The Sierra Azul Group at Morgan Stanley

Matthew Park, Senior Vice President/Portfolio Manager got his start in the industry in 2006 with UBS, and joined Morgan Stanley in 2021. Matt likes to think of his job not from the position of a financial advisor, but rather as a teacher. "I want every client who talks with me to learn something new from that conversation, so I can assist them in their financial education, which will help them make more informed decisions about their futures." He believes that knowing he can help clients achieve their financial goals, whether it's a comfortable retirement, paying for education, assisting in a big purchase, or being able to help those in need is what continuously keeps him motivated. One of the several value-adds that Matt brings to the table is his experience living in the emerging markets, which has given him a more global perspective on investing. In addition, his undergraduate degree in psychology helps Matt to better communicate with clients. Matt graduated from UC Davis in Davis, California with a BA in Psychology, and graduated from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea with an MBA in Business.

Matt's overall approach as an advisor is to insure that his clients receive a mix of informational, educational, and personal services from him and his team. He wants his clients to know that when they need to reach out, they never have to talk to a machine, bur rather a person and a friend. He tailors his service model to their needs; "some need more contact, while others do not, but i believe I have developed a minimum that makes everyone comfortable. I personally love interacting with my friends and the role of professional portfolio manager."

Outside of work, Matt strives to give back to his community in which he spends time volunteering in after school programs, coaches sports, works in soup kitchens, and makes sure to donate funds to his local church as well as other charities. Matt is married, and has a teenage son that enjoys studying taekwondo and playing volleyball with. Ironically, he coaches his son in volleyball, whereas his son is one of Matt's taekwondo teachers.

Ryan Kanetoku is a Portfolio Manager, Financial Planning Specialist, and Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley in Cupertino, CA. Working with partner, Cynthia Shen, they seek to provide a highly personalized, small family office experience focusing on consultative strategies and holistic solutions for Silicon Valley executives, entrepreneurs, as well as their families. Both Ryan and Cynthia, seek to establish lifelong professional relationships, built on trust and satisfaction by employing a disciplined process that follows a circular progression of discovery, advising on a plan, implementation, and tracking. Working closely with their client’s tax and legal advisors, their team implements customized wealth management strategies, concentrating on asset management, tax management, and estate planning.

Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Ryan earned his B.S. degree in Finance and M.S. degree in Finance from the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University.

Ying Mei, Senior Vice President is a Financial Advisor who joined Morgan Stanley in 2021. Prior to joining the firm, Ying worked for American Express Financial Advisors, where she got her start in the industry, and for Citi in 2005. Ying has her CFP (Certified Financial Planner) certification and is passionate about fulfilling her client’s financial goals through her highly tailored and holistic approach. Ying views her client relationships in a very personalized fashion: “I feel fulfilled to be part of my clients' financial life and to be able to help them achieve their family's goals. I enjoy exploring the life stories behind the money. My clients view me as their friend more than their advisor.”

Ying’s holistic approach covers a plethora of bases pertaining to wealth management such as cash management, retirement solutions and investment strategy to contingencies planning, trust and estate planning, and more. She helps to clarify her client’s goals and works to map out a comprehensive plan in order to optimize their financial resources; she works to do this in a way that is both cost effective and tax efficient. Ying truly takes a hands-on approach of keeping her clients involved with the whole process from goal finding, to implementing, to monitoring progress.

Ying grew up in Mainland China and worked in China Construction Bank (Shanghai) for about 5 year after graduating from JiangXi University of Finance and Economics. She earned a master's degree in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from Stanford University. She is married and has two teenage kids and two lovely dogs, Mocha and Maple. Ying is fluent in Mandarin, and some of her favorite hobbies include traveling and dancing.

Erik Jue, First Vice President is a Financial Advisor who joined Morgan Stanley in 2021 and has been in the finance industry since 1992. His approach when it comes to working with clients is looking at each client’s individual situation and past experiences, and then working to fully understand what is important to them. “I believe having that understanding helps me to explain the pros and cons pertaining to the options that they have so that the client can make an informed decision.” Erik’s passion for working with others and finding solutions to a challenge where there is not necessarily one right answer played a large role in his desire to become a Financial Advisor.

Erik enjoys the process of helping clients work towards a financial goal. Whether it be buying a second home, paying for college, planning for retirement, etc., Erik has the knowledge and experience to assist. He got his start in the financial services industry 30 years ago, starting in banking and eventually transitioning to the investment/wealth management side.

Erik attended the University of San Francisco, earning a degree in Organizational Behavior and Leadership. His hobbies include camping, hiking, traveling, and cuisine. He is married and has one son who is in college. They are a very close family, and they enjoy traveling together,

Jason DeGroodt is a Financial Advisor that got his start in the finance industry in 2001, and joined Morgan Stanley in 2021. He went to the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California in which he graduated with a BSBA in Finance and became interested in financial consulting while researching careers. "I liked the fact that it was more of a 'people business', meaning you interacted with people versus pouring over data and doing calculations." Jason gets great satisfaction from helping people achieve their financial goals and in simplifying their financial lives. There's a deep sense of gratification in designing a plan for a client that will help them with major issues in their lives (i.e. save for retirement or their child's education).

Jason's philosophy is for his recommendations to be unique to his clients and their situations while aiming to achieve their goals. "I don't take a 'one-size-fits-all' approach and instead listen intently to what my clients are concerned about. I make a plan specific to that client and show them how the plan addresses their concerns."

Jason is married and has two young children. His daughter Evelyn is 8 and his son Beau is 6. They are a very close-knit family that is big on traditions and spending quality time together. Every Sunday they do dinners at Jason's mother & father-in-laws where his children play with their cousins, aunts and uncles. Some of Jason's hobbies include playing the guitar which he picked up recently, and going to live concerts. He also loves reading, especially on economic and other social science issues. Jason is also a proponent of running in which he participates in two half-marathons a year. He understands the importance of giving back to his community as displayed by his donations to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.