An Interview with Daniel Lee: How a Passion for Enabling Financial Wellness For Everyone Led Him to BrightPlan
Rebecca Morris
Our Q&A series gives you a behind the curtain look at life at BrightPlan. Hear from our team members on why they love the work that they do.
Get to Know Daniel:
Daniel Lee is the Director of Financial Planning and Advice at BrightPlan. He leads BrightPlan’s team of financial planners and is responsible for the financial planning advice provided to BrightPlan clients. Daniel works from his home office in Southern California.
Daniel received an economics degree from the University of Michigan as well as a Certificate of Financial Planning from UC Berkeley Extension. He holds a number of credentials. Daniel is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) , and an Enrolled Agent (EA). Daniel is also an award winning instructor at UC Berkeley Extension’s Personal Financial Planning program. His current courses include Employment Benefits and Equity Compensation.
Prior to BrightPlan, Daniel was a wealth manager in the Bay Area for over a decade providing financial planning and investment management to high net-worth families.
Fun fact: Daniel is quite the globetrotter. Hawaii is one of his favorite places to visit. He also visits both Seoul, South Korea and New York City often to see family.
Q: What made you decide to join BrightPlan?
A: I joined BrightPlan because of the mission. I’ve always had a passion for providing financial wellness for everyone, regardless of the size of their wealth. We need technology and digital solutions that scale so that people can not only learn, but have the tools to apply their learnings to confidently progress towards their financial goals. BrightPlan is doing that really well. As a wealth manager, I saw the life changing impact being financially well had on my clients and I wanted that for my friends, family and network. It’s not about how much money you make or have, it’s about how well you manage your money.
Q: What does Total Financial Wellness mean to you?
A: Total Financial Wellness isn't necessarily about finances. It’s about not having to worry about money and getting it off your mind so that you can focus on the important things in life. It’s about freeing up your mental capacity to truly enjoy the things you love, and be present with your family and at work.
Q: What does a typical “day-in-the-life” look like for you?
A: I’m constantly working on improving the financial planning experience. To that end, I meet with our financial planners to work through solutions to help them be more effective in their roles. I also take financial planning calls and speak directly with our clients to keep a pulse on our clients’ needs firsthand. I work with our engineering team to develop new features that improve the client experience in our app, and also assist our Head of Financial Education with content by participating in webinars and writing blog posts.
Q: What do you love most about the work that you do?
A: Being able to provide financial wellness to everyone so that they can live their lives to the fullest. I’ve seen how living a life without financial worry can have such a profound effect and I feel lucky to work with an amazing team that shares the same goal.
Q: Any final thoughts?
A: Access to financial wellness is a right everyone should have, just like access to healthcare. BrightPlan is at the forefront of making that a reality and that makes me excited to come to work everyday!
Stay tuned for more employee spotlights in our Q&A series. If you’re interested in learning more about life at BrightPlan, visit our Careers page.
