Snider Shoutout: Stephanie & Cristina of Mana Financial Life Design

Whenever something in life feels overwhelming, stressful, or too big to tackle, I always find great relief by simply taking the time to establish a plan. Even more effective, is partnering with an expert I trust, who really understands me and what I am trying to do, in order to devise that plan. We help our clients establish and execute personalized plans for their real estate goals, but of course real estate is just one small piece of their financial picture. That's why I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce you all to Stephanie Bucko and Cristina Livadary of Mana Financial Life Design. Mana takes an innovative, personalized and compassionate approach to financial planning in a way that sets their clients up for success, whatever that may look like for them. This resonates so strongly with me and how I think about serving my clients, each of whom have very unique goals, priorities and dreams.

Stephanie and Cristina met at Bucknell University in 2005, and within months of becoming friends, realized they wanted to start a business together. Between graduating from college and starting Mana, they each worked on Wall Street. Cristina led sales and consulting efforts as a Regional Director for Russell Investments, one of the world’s largest institutional investment consultants. Stephanie worked in the hedge fund industry, first as an auditor for PwC, then a Risk Manager for the world’s largest publicly traded hedge fund, and later a Portfolio Manager for high-net worth individuals and managing hedge funds.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, can you tell us a little bit about Mana FLD and what brought you to starting it? What does Mana mean?

We started Mana out of our passion to change the industry of financial advice. Five years ago, a study by the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) showed that the majority of Americans who had financial advisors didn’t actually trust them to act in their best interests. We recognized our career experience, and combined credentials (Cristina a CFP® and Registered Life Planner, and Stephanie a CPA and Chartered Financial Analyst) would enable us to change this statistic.

We launched Mana FLD four and a half years ago, shortly after we quit our corporate Wall Street jobs. After our time in the corporate side of the industry, we realized that challenges around money aren’t discovered in spreadsheets alone. Research from psychology, sociology, and behavioral economics shows that the relationship between money and happiness is both complex and unintuitive. Our attitudes and beliefs about finance shape the way we live, plan, and dream. Mana weaves all of this into our process.

Mana is an ancient Hawaiian word for power, unrelated to wealth.

Tell us a little bit about your Financial Life Design process.

Financial life design goes far beyond traditional financial advice. At Mana, we focus on the client first, spending time to collaboratively understand their life goals and values. We identify personal desires and find unique solutions to empower and inspire. We prioritize listening over directing, and deeply value client voices in our advisory relationships.

We honor each client’s unique personal history and vision of the future. We expect growth and change, and our method is built to celebrate and capitalize on it.

When is the right time to engage with a financial advisor? And what advice would you give someone that is looking to hire one?

We believe everyone deserves great financial advice. There are lots of reasons to hire a financial advisor, and the good news is that there are financial advisors around the country who specialize in niche markets, or have expertise in specific financial areas. The pandemic has actually opened the door for being able to work with advisors who are experts in exactly what you need, versus being bound by where you live. If you’re ready to have a partner in figuring out your goals, and how to reach them financially, we’d say you’re ready to engage!

If you’re looking to hire professional help, we recommend that you work with a fee-only, registered investment advisor. Being fee-only means that you will only be charged a fee for the services being provided, not commissions on products being sold to you. Registered investment advisors are required to be registered with their State or the SEC, and report their business practices and fee structure publicly, arming you with a ton of information, and ensuring you’re not being charged any hidden fees. Some places to find these advisors… XY Planning Network, Fee-Only Network, and NAPFA.

What are some of the considerations you discuss with clients who are thinking about buying or selling real estate?

This is a hot topic with many clients, and a decision that often gets clouded with emotion rather than logic. We are big believers that if a home is really important to you, it’s not all about the numbers, but there are some important factors in your financial life that we’d recommend you have in place ahead of making this huge decision. This may be long winded, but since we’re talking to Amy’s network, we figure this is well placed.

Having an excellent credit score is essential to getting the best mortgage terms. In other words, better credit will save you money.
Make sure you have a steady income - if you don’t have a reliable source of income, lenders will be less willing to take the risk of lending you money and may penalize you with a higher interest rate loan if you do qualify.
Save for a downpayment of 20% or more - PMI will add extra, non tax-deductible costs to your monthly mortgage payment. There are some loans that allow you to put less down, so if you decide this route, make sure your monthly payment is affordable enough that you’re able to save on top of it every month.
Have an Emergency Fund of at least 6 months of expenses - saving for a down payment shouldn’t come at the risk of not having this cushion of cash (especially during uncertain times like these).
Keep your monthly mortgage payment to 30% or less of your take home pay. Don’t forget about the continued monthly savings you’ll need for maintenance and repairs which you’ll be responsible for. It’s a good idea to plan to spend anywhere between 1-3% of your home’s purchase price each year in home maintenance and repairs.
Plan to stay in your house for at least 5 years. The upfront costs - inspectors, realtors, closing costs, moving, furnishing - will inevitably equate to more than renting would cost in the first few years of homeownership. However, if you annualize those costs and spread them out over the number of years you stay in a home, the more it makes sense to buy. Plus, the longer you stay, the more your monthly payments will be going to paying down your mortgage debt (instead of paying for interest).

The headlines these days can be pretty alarmist at times. We are always trying to support our clients with data and facts to inform their decisions. How do you guide your clients through times of volatility and uncertainty?

We use our Financial Life Plans as a client’s unique guide to achieving their greatest dreams. We know markets are volatile, and we know this volatility is unpredictable. What’s most important is focusing on what we can control, consistent savings, investing, and risk management.

What do you think makes your company stand out compared to other financial advisors?

First and foremost, we care deeply about every client we take on. We spend time getting to know their hopes and dreams, and work to guide them every step of the way.

We purposefully limit the size of Mana so we can ensure an amazing client experience.

Finally, we love empowering our clients to learn more about investing. So many advisors keep investing in a black box, but we want our clients to learn about and engage with our investment strategies as much as they want.

What do you love most about your job?

Both of us love seeing the changes happen when a client or clients feel financially confident. In our society, money so often is associated with guilt, shame, and fear. Instead of accepting money as forever scary or confusing, we aim to make money a topic that people feel comfortable speaking about - as well as a tool used to thrive - and it’s amazing when we see that shift happen in our clients.

It’s also pretty fun getting to work with your best friend every day!

Have you read any books, listened to any podcasts, or watched any shows / movies / documentaries that you’ve enjoyed lately? Tell us about them!

We both loved reading Morgan Housel’s, The Psychology of Money!

We religiously listen to Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway’s podcast Pivot.

Guilty pleasure: Bling Empire

What are 3 of your favorite places/ things to do in Los Angeles?

Here are some of our faves:

Favorite restaurants & bars: Tabula Rasa Bar, Great White, and Anajak Thai

Favorite place to spend the day: The Huntington Gardens, Lighthouse Beach, or on a hike in the mountains.

Favorite music venue: Hollywood Bowl

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Learn more about who we are and how we serve clients on our website www.manafld.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/manafld/