Lantern Wealth exists to make financial planning more human — clearer, calmer, and more useful in the moments that actually matter.
Simple is hard. But simple creates action.
We believe financial planning should move with your life. It is something you return to when life changes, when new questions show up, and when the numbers need to support a real decision.
The goal is not to impress you with complexity. It is to give you objective numbers so you can make subjective life decisions with clarity and confidence.
Money is a tool to create joy in your life now, in retirement, and for future generations. Net worth matters, yes — but building a life you actually love matters more.
We focus on direction over noise, clear priorities over endless options, and real outcomes over perfect-looking spreadsheets. The best plan is not the most complex one. It is the one you understand, trust, and can actually use.
01
Money is a tool, not the point. The plan serves the life, not the other way around.
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If it is not clear, it is not helpful. Good advice reduces noise and makes the next step obvious.
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We think long term, manage risk, and help families and businesses avoid expensive mistakes.
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Advice should feel human, not institutional. We meet people where they are and explain things with the heart of a teacher.
Fun facts:
Partner & Wealth Advisor
Direct, personal, and real connector. Dave believes a great financial plan should give people permission to retire, spend more freely, and actually enjoy the life they have built.
He started at the biggest of banks and worked his way all the way down to working for himself. He’s been in the business since 2011 and is just finding his stride, or so he says.
Growing up in the hospitality business taught him that relationships matter and that treating people properly matters.
His life’s desire is to ‘WOO’ others and describes himself as a ‘connector of good people’.
His biggest joy in the work is helping people realize they can retire earlier than they thought, even ‘bullying’ them to do so.
Fun facts:
Partner & Wealth advisor
David brings calm structure and an engineer’s instinct for making complexity rational, linear, and usable. He helps turn messy information into clean decisions.
This is David’s second career. He was able to retire in 2024 and was pulled – kicking and screaming – into Lantern Wealth by Dave because he had too much to offer to only sit on the sidelines.
He has a distinguished professional past, Google him or check out his LinkedIn here.
He never misses his kids’ sports, is deeply close with his family, and has a soft spot for good infographics. At heart, he’s a video game nerd mixed with a competitive hockey player who has a short fuse on the ice. It’s a strange mix, but it works.
We are around. We get back to you. We do not overcomplicate things. When something is confusing, we walk through it piece by piece until it makes sense.
You are not left guessing what to do next or why something matters.
Phone, text, email, or sitting around your kitchen table. We fit into your life, not the other way around.
We stay ahead of deadlines, moving parts, and the details that usually create stress.
When something is complex, we walk through it piece by piece until it makes sense.
We collaborate with your accountant, lawyer, and other professionals when that makes life easier.
Lantern Wealth was born in 2018, but the story starts earlier. The name was chosen intentionally: a lantern shines light into dark or uncertain situations and helps a guide show the path ahead.
That is exactly how Lantern sees its role — not as the hero of your story, but as the guide helping you see what is in front of you so you can choose with confidence.
But let’s start from the beginning…
Dave left the bank in 2016 and began working on his own under the name Wilder Wealth. A couple of years later, he helped a 60-year-old advisor retire and transition his practice. From an optics standpoint, it didn’t make much sense for that advisor to be joining something called Wilder Wealth, so a proper brand was needed.
Dave paid more money than he could afford at the time to have someone come up with the branding and the name. It felt slightly irresponsible in the moment, but it mattered.
The name Lantern Wealth was chosen intentionally. A lantern held by a guide, can illuminate the darkest, murkiest paths. This is how we view ourselves: guides making you confident abut taking your next steps.
It also turned out to be very easy to spell. To this day, when someone asks Dave for his email at a till, no one has ever asked how to spell “lantern,” which feels like a small, but meaningful win in the world of brand decisions.
We’re not the hero in your story. You are.
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