Our People

Steven Lee Yamshon is a Managing Principal at Benefit Financial Services Group and a member of the Investment Committee. With over 35 years of experience, Steve provides valuable insights and perspectives on the economy, markets, and investments.

Prior to joining BFSG, LLC, Steve was managing clients and investments at Stevens First Principles Investment Advisors and Security Pacific National Bank. He has been teaching investment finance at UCLA for over 25 years.  He has written 2 books and 32 research papers and case studies on investments, economics, and management. His dissertation Human Action and the Securities Markets was praised for its breakthrough research on the melding of Modern Portfolio Theory and the Austrian Trade Cycle Theory.

Steve earned his Bachelor of Science Degree with honors in Environmental Resources from CSU, Sacramento. His master qualifications and post-doctorate certificate in Management and Finance is from the University of Oxford, Said Business School. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Owner President Management Program and earned his Certificates in Digital Transformation, Technology, and Innovation from Sloan School of Management at MIT. Steve also studied finance, economics, and management at the Doctoral Degree level at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA as a Visiting Scholar. His PhD is from the International Post Graduate School, Universidad de San Jose which merged into Fundacion Empresarial in 1996. He is on the Board of Governors at Cedars Sinai Medical Center and is a volunteer field ranger for the U.S. Forest Service.

As the Senior Operations Manager, Nora handles the wealth management division’s internal organization, including financial management, and organizational effectiveness to create an outstanding client service environment. She also assists with portfolio administration, which includes providing clients with account assistance, such as requests for funds, balances, standing instructions and any other account administrative services. With 15 years of experience, she previously worked in technology and architectural environments.

She earned the Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional™ designation from the College for Financial Planning.

As the Controller, Arash oversees the firm’s accounting functions, including monthly GAAP financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting. He works closely with the Chief Compliance Officer to meet SEC and Sarbanes-Oxley regulatory requirements.

Arash is also a Wealth Manager at BFSG. His responsibilities include analyzing securities and reviewing portfolios with clients. Arash works with clients to help them realize their short and long-term goals by delivering personalized financial plans and retirement analysis.

Arash received a Bachelor of Science in Economics with Distinction from the University of Victoria. He is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, and earned his Accredited Wealth Management Advisor℠ designation from the College for Financial Planning. Outside of the office, Arash enjoys spending time with family and going on hikes with his dog Rain.

As a Financial Analyst, Robert assists in the execution of trades, account analysis, and performance reporting. He has previously worked for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, LLP in their finance department. Robert graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics. He currently holds the Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor ℠  and Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ designations from the College for Financial Planning.

As the Client Service Specialist & Social Media Coordinator, Katie DeSantis provides ongoing administrative support along with management of records and documents, and superior customer service. She has previously worked as an administrative assistant for over four years and customer service for over ten years. Katie completed her Associates Degree from Saddleback College. 

As a Securities and Financial Analyst, Xiaomei’s current responsibilities include analyzing securities using fundamental research. Prior to joining Benefit Financial Services Group, she worked in the media and she approaches security analysis like how a journalist chases a story.

Xiaomei holds her MBA degree from Xiamen University and her Master of Science degree from University of Strathclyde. She graduated with Distinction from UCLA Extension in Finance. She is also pursuing her CFA® designation.