C3O • PARTNER
CHIEF PLANNING OFFICER
Lauren Stansell, CFP® earned an honors B.S. in Economics, summa cum laude, from Virginia Tech in May 2012. She earned her second honors bachelor’s degree in Finance, summa cum laude, from Virginia Tech’s CFP® Certification Education Track, a CFP Board-Registered program, in December 2012. Lauren passed the CFP® exam in July 2014 and became a CFP® professional in February 2015. Lauren earned her Master’s in Advanced Financial Planning with a concentration in Taxation through Golden Gate University in 2019.
In 2024, Lauren was named to InvestmentNews’ inaugural list of Rising Stars*, a list of the best Wealth Managers and Advisors under 40. Also in 2024, Lauren was named to Forbes’ Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors Best-in-State list*, Lauren’s second recognition by Forbes. Her first came in 2023 when she was named to Forbes’ Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-in-State list*. According to Forbes, advisors on these lists “represent the true role models of the industry – advisors that are leading the way in offering best practices and providing a high-quality experience for clients.” Lauren has also been featured on various podcasts including ‘NextGen Planners Podcast’ and the ‘You’re a Financial Planner… Now What?’ podcast. She has also been quoted in publications including InvestmentNews, WalletHub, BankRate.com, and AssetTV. She has served as both a speaker and a moderator for various panels and presentations at conferences around the country including a hiring presentation, a succession planning panel, and a Women in Wealth panel. She was also involved in building a new course with The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard and moderated the first class on the history of the financial planning profession.
Lauren co-founded the Financial Planning Association® (FPA®) Student Chapter at Virginia Tech and was the first president of the organization. In the first year of its existence, the chapter grew to over 70 students, making it the largest student chapter in the country. Lauren’s passion for engaging with the next generation of financial planners led her to take on the role of Co-Director of NexGen for the FPA of the National Capital Area in 2014. A natural born leader, Lauren served as the 2021 President and 2022 Chair of the FPA of San Francisco. Lauren is a graduate of FPA’s Residency Program and had the honor of serving as a Mentor to the Residents in June 2019 and 2021; she looks forward to serving as a Mentor again in June 2025 and the future!
In her free time, Lauren enjoys spending time with family (especially experiencing the joys of childhood with her daughter, Nora, and her son, Owen), hiking, exploring new cities and areas of her home city (San Francisco), horseback riding (she started riding when she was four years old), trying new restaurants and recipes with her husband, Daniel, and enjoying jogs and long walks along the San Francisco Bay.
Client Focus: As Chief Planning Officer, Lauren strives to empower Clients to pursue their Live Big lives, to be their “deep breath” in times of need, and to facilitate and participate in the meaningful relationships built. Lauren’s role on the team as a leader is an integral one: not only does she provide guidance and mentorship for those who support her, but she’s also considered the Protector of our core values, ensuring that all strategies and decisions are in alignment with who we are at our core.
Current Update: Happy New Year! Lauren is feeling energized and excited for all that is to come in 2026. She’s looking forward to upcoming FPA of San Francisco chapter meetings (she’ll be coordinating and introducing the speaker for the February meeting on tax planning – go figure that’s her topic!), increased engagement in pro bono planning this year, and focusing on fine-tuning some major annual processes the Financial Planning Team goes through (like managing Inherited IRAs and the varying rules based on when the account was inherited or the 1099 communication and gathering process).
The Financial Planning Team successfully navigated year-end tax planning season and seamlessly moved into Safe-Spending and trading season! The first few months of the year are full of trading (investing year-end portfolio income and rebalancing and raising cash for spending Clients), Safe-Spending analyses, and preparing for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs).
Lauren loved spending so much quality time with her family during the holidays. Nora (4) and Owen (2) were so excited for Christmas – they all spent time watching Christmas movies, enjoying cinnamon rolls, listening to the Mickey Mouse and Friends version of Jingle Bells many (MANY) times (don’t worry, it was balanced out with We Will Rock You by Queen on repeat), staying cozy with all the San Francisco rain, and playing with all the new toys and gadgets. Nora got her first pedal bike and mastered it in only an hour or two of practice, Owen got a scooter (he’s not yet too interested in practicing), and his first powered Hot Wheels set (which he loves!). The Stansell Family is looking forward to some fun events and trips on the horizon in 2026.
Lauren is wishing you all the best as we continue into this new year.
*Recipient advisor or wealth manager of an award and/or ranking is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment in the future. Disclosures for Awards and Rankings are available here.