About

Roy Gagaza, the CEO and Founder of Journey Wealth Management, LLC, retired in 2008 following nearly 25 years of service as an officer in the U.S. Army. During those years, Roy was twice awarded the Bronze Star. This distinction represents “Heroic or meritorious Achievement…while engaged in an action or operation against an enemy of the United States.”

Prior to his military service, Roy completed a bachelor’s degree in business marketing from San Jose State University, attending between 1984 and 1988. As a result, Roy was well-positioned to enter the financial industry full-time after retirement. He founded and has operated Journey Wealth Management, LLC, from January 2010 until the present. He presently maintains two offices in Hawaii, in Waipahu and Honolulu, and one in Manteca, California.

Roy Gagaza collaborates with his clients to achieve financial security in their retirement years. In service to that goal, he has earned accreditation as a Financial Professional, a Certified Estate Planner, CEP, and a Registered Financial Consultant, RFC. In addition, Roy holds insurance licenses in Hawaii (458231) and in California (0L87925).

Roy has received several awards and recognitions for outstanding service to his clients. On January 5, 2023, Roy and his wife Patricia, co-founder and CFO at Journey Wealth Management, were inducted into the Advisors Excel Hall of Fame. Every year since 2018, Roy has received the Advisors Excel Elite Advisor Award, the Security Benefit Elite Advisor Award in 2018 and 2020, and the Allianz Century Award, representing the achievement of $100 million in premium.

Roy Y. Gagaza and Patricia have two daughters, Kyrie and Mackenzie, and one son, Grant. In his free time, Roy enjoys spending time in the tropical waters, perfecting his golf game, traveling widely, and reading. Throughout his career, Roy has served his community and broadened his professional network by working closely with local school districts, collaborating with the highway patrol, local CPAs, and the Chamber of Commerce in a number of locations.

Where did the idea for Journey Wealth Management come from?

About 10 years into my military career, my wife and I started thinking about what we would eventually do outside of the military. We started to think about a retirement plan. But little did we know that our path toward retirement could someday help clients achieve the same end.

Recognizing that we needed a career beyond the military, I began developing programs and decided to test out the market by offering a seminar on the island. Based on that success, I then led more educational seminars and reached hundreds of individuals approaching or in retirement. I continued to provide these seminars and services throughout my last ten years in military service.

What does your Typical work day look like and how do you make it productive?

What’s most typical about my work day is that it’s always different. I travel among the Hawaiian islands and California assessing needs and opportunities, providing scheduled seminars, and often give impromptu financial guidance, counseling both clients and prospective clients on spending plans, and consulting on how to create the most tax-efficient strategies.

How do you bring your ideas to life?

At Journey Wealth Management, LLC, we believe that people’s dreams matter. Everyone should be able to live the retirement life they’ve always wanted.

I have assembled a highly qualified team of financial professionals. They are passionate about helping individuals and families create and achieve the ideal financial goals for enjoying their retirement years. Our team of professionals help clients create a well-thought-out strategy that might use a variety of strategies, including insurance products and services, that address financial needs and concerns. And personally, it’s my passion to capitalize on my own experience and translate it into gains for my clients.

A key to this is understanding that ideas come to life best through relationships. I always take time to get to know each client and their families. Only by establishing a long-lasting relationship can I build a personalized plan that delivers strong results for each individual client .

"I especially like working with senior clients—that 55-plus market. I get along better with people who are older than I. They’ve gone through so much and seen so many things in their life." They deserve professional goal-setting for their financial resources and sound financial guidance. In this process, I create an experience unlike many others in the financial planning and consulting business. This is what can bring the dream of a financially secure retirement to life.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I’m excited by bucking the trend! I’m opposed to a world that is more than ever bent on yielding to an always-on, on-demand, fast-track society. At Journey Wealth Management we reverse that trend by returning the traditional values of long-term, personal relationships. A client’s finances and life-long retirement dreams deserve nothing less.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

It’s a very simple habit: hard work combined with a pragmatic approach to education and business. That’s the solid basis we’ve built our business on. We’re known for outworking everyone around us. With full-time offices in both Hawaii and California, we serve two markets better than many firms serve one.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

I’d encourage myself to do what life has taught me works best. It’s nothing I didn’t know before, but I was never too young for advice to live a well-balanced life of integrity and commitment to my family. I’d also remind myself to be a friend to my clients and sincerely invest in their successes and wellbeing. If my younger self ever doubted the value of education, I’d advise myself to get all I could out of both university and military life.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

There are three important aspects of financial management in which I disagree with many.

First, too many people, for example, misunderstand the path to financial security. I work in two markets with very different outlooks on gaining and keeping wealth. In general they disagree with each other and I disagree with them both. It has to do with financial risk vs security.

Journey Wealth Management’s Hawaiian clients tend to be more conservative with their capital and assets while Northern Californians, especially in the technology area, tend to “play” their stocks and push excessive risk. I disagree with both.

As a result, I encourage conservative planners to risk a little more To prevent losses due to stagnation. On the other hand, I try to mediate risk for those inclined to gamble unwisely by investing in too many high-risk stocks. It takes a delicate touch and a solid client relationship to settle these disagreements.

Second, I disagree with folks who retire and happily spend without planning. Too many people get into financial trouble within five years before or after their retirement. People get in their “red zone” where they believe they’ve made it. They say: “Let’s go on that cruise. Or let’s go on 12 of them.” It takes a constructive disagreement to save that retirement, and a strong client relationship to make it happen.

I also disagree that a few big, impersonal corporate clients can pave the way to success. I’d rather build a business on referrals from a community of well served individual clients with whom I have established a personal relationship and personalized financial strategies.

What are the specific areas in which you offer services?

Though the services we provide are individualized for each client, the services fall into three distinct categories.

The first service is Growth. On retirement, a lifetime of hard-earned assets can be put to work through a retirement income strategy such as an annuity. A client deposits a large sum with an insurance company which then makes regular payments back to the client over time out of the fund-growth in that account. Selecting the carrier and amount is best accomplished with a Financial Professional, a Certified Estate Planner, CEP, and a Registered Financial Consultant, RFC.

The second service is to Preserve and Protect the assets that can help a client live the retirement they’ve always imagined. Asset Protection Strategies include Life Insurance, Tax-Efficient Strategies, and Long-Term Care Strategies developed for each client’s unique needs and preferences.

The third asset management strategy is Giving in which a client provides for the people and causes they care about the most. This is called Legacy Planning.

What is the unique perspective offered by Journey Wealth Management, LLC?

I create a bespoke, comprehensive, holistic approach strategy for each client based on the individual's unique preferences and needs for asset preservation, risk reduction, and principal protection. This is only possible by creating long-term relationships with my clients and their families. I concentrate on building a community beyond the office.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.

I help my clients work towards their own, personal dream retirement by developing well-thought-out financial strategies to preserve their assets, use tax-efficient strategies to reduce tax liabilities, and create retirement income strategies to enjoy their golden years with peace of mind. This produces a unique, individualized strategy that takes into account other factors such as community service and financial education suited for people from all walks of life.

What is one business Idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I’m particularly passionate about helping military retirees enjoy their retirement as a just reward for their many years of faithful service to our country. I and my family understand the importance of supporting military personnel , including housing, mental health, wellness, workforce development, and support that is personalized to each veteran's needs.

I think a business that offers retirement planning to every military retiree on the day they muster out and transition from active duty and military life back into the civilian world could offer them a great reward for their service and alleviate many hardships. Such a business model would quickly scale up to a very profitable service.

What is your family’s role in your business?

Because of my family, I have led a rich and enjoyable life beyond the office walls. My wife, Patricia, is the co-founder of Journey Wealth Management, LLC and my business partner. She has been by my side through the past 24 years, not only in business but as a military wife.

We believe our example has led our children, in one way or another, to follow in our footsteps and enrich the financial services industry in their own ways.

Our son, the youngest child, Grant, decided to follow in my example after graduating from the University of Pacific with a degree in Business Finance. He has now earned his Life and Health Insurance license. Our middle child, Mackenzie, recently married and has a Masters of Education in Literacy and teaches high school English. Our oldest child, Kyrie, is also married and recently gave birth to our first grandchild, Eleanor. Kyrie earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration and continues her career as the Senior Team Lead, Marketing Operations at Yardi Systems, a real estate software firm.

Key learnings

• Military experience provides a solid basis for hard work and a pragmatic approach to education and business.
• It’s better to build a business of referrals than have a few big clients.
• The key is to help clients preserve their money and have lifelong income.
• Build community beyond the office.
• Capitalize on personal experience and roll it into gains for clients