Neerja Bhutani, CFP®
Principal, Bhutani-Palmin Financial Planning LLC

Neerja holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and a graduate degree in Social Work from Delhi University, India   She completed the Personal Financial Planning certificate program at University of California, Berkeley Extension with distinction and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner.

Neerja has been a financial planning professional since 1997; she was employed as a Financial Planner with an independent wealth management firm. She says, “Most financial planning firms work with clients who have certain minimum amounts to invest. There is a segment of investors who have their money tied up in retirement plans, do not have minimum amounts to place with investment firms or simply like to do their own investing. Most of these everyday folks, however, would like to work with a financial planner occasionally to get a financial check up or a second opinion. To fill this vacuum I decided that offering financial planning on an hourly, as-needed basis would best meet that need.”

Lydia Palmin, MBA, CFP®
Principal, Bhutani-Palmin Financial Planning LLC

Lydia holds an undergraduate degree from U.C. Berkeley and an MBA from the University of Southern California.   She completed the Personal Financial Planning certificate program at U.C Berkeley Extension with distinction and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner.  

Lydia has practiced the profession of financial planning since 1997; she was employed as a Financial Planner and as Director of Financial Planning for a fee-only wealth management firm prior to founding Bhutani-Palmin Financial Planning LLC.  She says, “Although working with high net worth families was rewarding and provided me with a wealth of experience in all aspects of financial planning, I found that we were turning away many clients who needed advice, but did not meet the firm’s minimum asset requirements.  These were people from all walks of life – people like my friends and me - who could not find a reliable source of financial advice and information. I co-founded Bhutani-Palmin Financial Planning to offer financial planning and advice to clients according to their needs.” 

Neerja and Lydia are members of:

• The Garrett Planning Network, Inc. (GPN), the nation’s premier network of hourly, as-needed financial advisors.
  
  
• The Financial Planning Association (FPA), the largest organization of professionals dedicated to championing the financial planning process.  Neerja is a long time volunteer and past chair of the Community Outreach Committee of the East Bay Financial Planning Association.  She continues to volunteer with a Southeast Asian women’s organization for which she organizes and gives workshops in Financial Literacy to underserved segments of society.
  
  
• Neerja and Bhutani-Palmin Financial Planning LLC are members of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA).