Hard Work Leads to Financial Gains
Updated in 2026
After completing the Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning (PFP), in 2021, Sergio Campos founded El Camino Financial (ECF), a web application focused on improving personal financial decision-making.
On building ECF, Sergio says, “Finishing the certificate was a turning point for me: It gave me the confidence and perspective to take everything I had learned in my career and channel it into something innovative and scalable.
“My app analyzes and provides insights on your personal finances. I've had a few years working in the financial planning space and felt ready to apply my knowledge in a way that could help a broader group of people.”
During the height of COVID, like others, Sergio was reassessing his own finances. “It opened my eyes to how limited and expensive high-quality financial planning tools really were. Most platforms guided by financial planning fundamentals are available only to advisory firms, leaving everyday people with limited options.
“That realization stayed with me,” he continues. “I wanted to create something that anyone could use—simple, intuitive, grounded in real planning principles. That’s why ECF is currently offered for free. The combination of completing my PFP education, reaching a point of true professional readiness and witnessing the hardship of the global pandemic pushed me to build El Camino Financial and make sound financial clarity available to everyone.”
The app is a culmination of the knowledge gained from our certificate coursework, fellow classmates and industry—something he may not have discovered an interest in or need for had he not put the time and effort into continuing education.
“The PFP classes gave me a full picture of personal financial planning through the lens of how financial planners develop solutions for their clients,” he explains. “It also helped that every instructor was an experienced financial planner. The program changed everything for me. It helped me design the product not just as a tech solution, but as something that would genuinely support the way advisers and clients collaborate and make decisions.”
How so?
“The ethics and client psychology coursework reinforced the importance of trust,” he says about how people make financial decisions. “That’s why we intentionally avoid third-party aggregators. People deserve clarity and control over their financial information. The program helped me translate academic concepts into something simple enough for most people to use, but robust enough for advisers to rely on.
“The certificate gave me the technical confidence to build something grounded in fundamental planning principles and also boosted my credibility in the financial planner space. It shaped my mindset and helped me bridge the gap between operations, technology and financial planning. Without the program, El Camino Financial might still be an idea instead of a platform helping advisers and clients today.”
From an early age, Sergio saw firsthand how to be responsible with money and work to gain financial security. Sergio’s mother, Lupe, has been his greatest influence for working and studying hard.
“I was born in San José, Calif., but shortly after, my mom moved to Modesto, Calif., where she single-handedly raised my two brothers and me,” he says. “For the first few years in Modesto, my mom was commuting over an hour to work at a Lucky’s grocery store. She then enrolled at a local trade school and earned a certificate in paralegal studies in the hope of getting a better job with better pay. After earning her certificate, she was hired as a paralegal at a bilingual Spanish law firm in Modesto.”
When it came time to apply for college, Modesto Junior College (MJC) was the natural choice for Sergio. There, he earned an associate’s degree and then transferred to San José State University (SJSU) to continue his undergraduate education in the field of economics.
Working in Financial Planning
Since graduating, Sergio has held various positions in the wealth management field, including as an associate advisor, an operations manager and a director.
“I’ve now worked in different roles at three great Bay Area firms: Half of my career has been working directly with financial advisers and their clients, the other half has been focused on technology and operations projects,” he says.
“Because I've worked at smaller companies, I've often helped with duties outside of my official roles, such as preparing advisers for meetings and helping them understand reports being presented to clients, as well as updating financial plans in MoneyGuidePro. I’ve enjoyed my career so far and am thankful for the job opportunities I’ve had.”
It was due to his varied work experiences that Sergio decided to register for our Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning.
“Working directly with financial advisers, I became very interested in financial planning early on,” he recalls. “San Francisco had a few programs I could attend in person, but the UC Berkeley Extension personal financial planning program interested me the most. Given the UC Berkeley name, I knew it would be a top-tier program. The courses were also next door to the Parallel Advisors office building in San Francisco, where I worked at the time.”
Courses Sergio Took
Of the courses he completed for the certificate, Survey of Personal Financial Planning made the biggest impact on his career path today.
“Survey of Personal Financial Planning was the best course because it was an introduction to all the financial planning topics covered in the entire program—income tax, investments, insurance, employment benefits, estate planning and behavioral finance,” he enthuses.
“The breadth of information learned in the program has made me better at my job and helped me advance my career.”
But it wasn’t all about the coursework. The people made a difference, too.
“I met a lot of great people in the program and had a familiar face in every course I took,” he says. “Meeting others through the program was one of my favorite parts. The instructors are also great and very friendly.”
Serving Clients’ Needs
“My current role is director of Client Services at Relevant Wealth, where I serve as a primary point of contact for all of our wonderful clients,” Sergio says. “Relevant Wealth is unique because we serve a select group of charitable foundations and individuals nationwide. Serving foundations makes my job even more rewarding, and I’m grateful to support the charitable giving of our clients.”
Since completing the certificate in 2021, Sergio continues to incorporate lessons learned and skills gained to his daily work.
“Every day I apply the information I learned during the personal financial planning certificate program,” he relates.
Estate Planning: “I attended a series of meetings with Relevant Wealth’s owner, a client and the client’s estate attorney to coordinate a series of changes to the client’s estate plan. The lessons learned in the estate planning class helped me with this.”
Income Taxes and Personal Financial Planning: “Most of our clients are charitable foundations, and I communicate daily with foundation board members to provide them investment reports, assist with their annual audits, and coordinate their cash needs for their charitable giving and operational cash needs. The tax planning course taught me about charitable giving and the tax benefits.”
Insurance in Personal Financial Planning: “I recently assisted a client who wanted to surrender an annuity she had. I worked with her insurance company to find out what was needed to surrender the annuity and direct the funds to her retirement account that we manage. The insurance class was a great introduction to understanding annuities.”
Investments in Personal Financial Planning: General Principles and Methods: “As primary manager of the investment reporting system that reports on all of our client assets, I require a good understanding of different types of investments. There is a lot of accounting involved, too. The investments course taught me a lot about different types of investments which helps me understand the reporting better.
“I also communicate directly with our client CPAs, estate attorneys and other financial professionals. The breadth of information learned in the program has made me better at my job and helped me advance my career,” he divulges.
With the certificate providing a big boost to his career, Sergio looks forward to his future in the industry and to applying his skills towards other self-interests.
And his takeaway about the Certificate Program in Personal Financial Planning?
“I highly recommend the personal financial planning certificate, whether you are interested in or currently working in finance,” Sergio says. “It has boosted my financial career, and I met a lot of smart and friendly people in the program. It’s also a great program for anyone who wants to learn and improve their own personal finances.
“I am very happy with my current role at Relevant Wealth and my career trajectory. I look forward to working in the Bay Area wealth management industry for many years to come.”
