David Barta, CFA, CFP®
Financial Planner
The Hour
- Ask a financial advisor anything about investing in one hour
- No commissions, products, or sales pitch
The Plan
- An 8 week program to achieve a strategic plan for your financial life
- Get an 8+ page financial plan
- $0 due now, pay after your 1st meeting
The Ongoing
- Ongoing support and accountability when you need it
- Quarterly video calls & unlimited emails
- Annual 2 page financial checkup
About David
Bio
Hi, I'm David! I've had three careers — airlines, finance firms, and fintech startups — but what I love most is the moment a financial plan actually changes someone's life. I've seen how one ill-informed decision can unravel decades of hard work, but also how a single hour can radically change the trajectory of a family. That's what drives me. If your situation involves complex equity, private investments, or complex life, being an expat, let's talk. I always explain the why — you deserve to understand the plan you're executing. I've also been living the expat life in Europe for two years now — best decision we ever made!
I Can Help You With
I Enjoy Working With
Personal Stuff
I once went to the ER for ramen-related reasons and I stand by my choices. We adopted a cat and later discovered it was born on our wedding day. You can watch my old band play at the Times Square Hard Rock Cafe on YouTube. My wife says I think I'm funnier than I am. I have lived in Minneapolis, Phoenix, L.A., Orange County, Monterey, Augusta, Valencia (Spain), and Ljubljana (Slovenia). I enjoy lightsaber battles with my 4-year-old. My wife will probably not let me buy a drumset again.
Education & Designations
Experience
Reviews
Clients say
Reviewers mention
- Tax Strategy
- Retirement Planning
- Financial Independence And Early Retirement
- Investment Strategy
- Portfolio Construction
- Portfolio Analysis
- Asset Allocation
- International Finance
- Expatriate Finance
- Cross Border Finance
- Estate Planning
- Asset Protection
- Thorough
- Knowledgeable
- Prepared
- Clear
- Patient
- Friendly
- Personable
- Thoughtful
- Responsive
- Trustworthy
- Straightforward
- Perceptive
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Thorough, expert and trustworthy advice
David helped me and my husband make high-confidence plans for FIRE, with deep attention paid to every detail and a level of personalized advice that we simply couldn't get anywhere else (even ChatGPT!!). He also wrote us detailed follow up steps after our call on complex tax topics. It's so reassuring to get our plan structured and approved by a real, human expert and we'll absolutely keep going to David as we continue down our FIRE path.
Complete and thorough
Complete and thorough. Addressed every subject and gave interesting advice .
Huge Money Making Suggestions from David
I used to be an advisor myself. I used to recently be with the top team at a top high profile financial services firm. David blew them out of the water and helped to change how I think about financial planning. We covered taxes, retirement accounts, leverage, insurance, estate planning, private investments, capital gains, cash flow, budgeting, gifting to my kids, and long-term family wealth. He found opportunities I hadn't considered, challenged some strategies I was confident in, and helped turn a lot of moving pieces into an actual plan. For example, we spent a lot of time on my use of a securities-backed line of credit for private investments. He made me look at not only the potential return, but taxes, liquidity, market risk, and what happens when callable debt is funding an illiquid investment. That's the kind of advice I was paying for. He gave me a detailed and thorough financial plan that had my head spinning. It was the most sophisticated, intelligent, and actionable plan I'd ever seen. He also boiled it down in a summary to high value quick action items that saved me tens of thousands right away like finding out my underlying insurance policies weren't correct and would make my umbrella useless, better tax advantaged opportunities for investments, back door Roth, self directed IRA for very specific investments I'm doing that will save a lot, negotiating my SBLOC and mortgage as I move institutions that saved a lot, lower cost investments, gifting to the next generation. Some of the suggestions will help me create millions extra over the next few decades. I'm continuing with the ongoing with David so he can continue to quarterback me. Plus he's a CFA so I'll also send him company financials I might invest in to get a second opinion. Using David will undoubtedly be the best financial decision I've made. I plan to have him help my family members who are in or various years from retirement or just starting out in their careers to get on the right path.
David was fantastic.
David was fantastic. We are financial idiots and we were actually embarrassed about how much we didn't know, but David made us feel comfortable. He made it easy for us get on a smart financial path.
Great Experience
David was very friendly, likable, but most of all experienced. He was able to go through my very specific situation and a large breadth of different investments and instruments, and give me clear and actionable advice as well as catching an issue that we were able to address saving a decent amount of money. The appointment paid for itself easily. Would recommend.
Incredibly Detailed, Covered Every Topic!
David came to the meeting highly prepared and covered what I thought would have been many hours of information in just one hour. He had done a ton of preparation, sent over questions to ensure the hour was spent focused on my priorities. We even had time for Tax Buckets 101 (Federal vs. Long Term Capital Gains) and Backdoor Roth Basics, which I thought we wouldn't be able to cover. This didn't feel pushy or sales-y at all, which was a concern for my first time doing one of these and I have already adopted several changes the same day of the meeting. Cannot recommend more highly!
David was amazing! Answered all my questions, v...
David was amazing! Answered all my questions, very knowledgeable (and made everything understandable), and left me with a clear path forward/action items for meeting my goals.
Great adviser, especially for Americans abroad
Finding a fee-based financial adviser who actually understands the US/Europe cross-border space was extremely difficult, so I'm thrilled I found David- working with him was a breath of fresh air and so helpful. Right from the start, he was incredibly thorough. He clearly took the time to research the specifics of my situation beforehand, which made our session super efficient without wasting a single minute. He was also kind, responsive, and wonderfully flexible when I had to reschedule. After our call, he followed up with extensive, clear notes summarizing everything. What impressed me the most was when I had a follow-up question later on - instead of trying to bill me for another session, he answered it in full, thoughtful detail. David is fantastic at what he does and operates with genuine integrity. Anyone would be in great hands working with him, and if you happen to be an American living in Europe trying to make sense of cross-border finances, I'd definitely recommend him.
Extremely helpful and thorough
David was incredibly helpful in guiding us through our investment options. He took the time to explain everything clearly and in detail, and his follow-up notes were extremely valuable. We felt very well supported and would absolutely work with him again. Highly recommend!
Concise financial overview with solutions
David was thorough in providing a holistic review of my partner and I's financial state. While discussing finances may not be a walk in the park, David made brief stops in addressing any issues and provided recommendations that were digestible.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Hour: You'll fill out a short intake form so we can learn about you and your goals for our meeting! In your Nectarine account, you can also enter your personal financial information (net worth and budget details) as well as upload files to your Secure File Vault. We also recommend that you have any necessary account login information ready.
The Plan and The Ongoing: You'll get access to a financial planning portal where you can share your numbers, link your accounts, and upload the requested documents (we'll share a list).
The Hour: Yes, you will receive an email summary with important takeaways and resources so you'll know what to do next.
The Plan: Yes, you will receive a 8+ page roadmap on your full financial picture with detailed information on the next steps. Your advisor will be available to help you implement any items.