Massi De Santis

Massi De Santis

Massi De Santis, CFP® founded DESMO Wealth to help people live better lives through enhanced financial health and wellness. The clarity and motivation that come from a plan tailored to your values lead to better decision making in all areas of your life and increased life satisfaction. DESMO is a Greek word that means link or connection. Successful financial planning creates the link between your values and your money. Achieving anything important to you in life requires planning and it involves money questions. Relationships, passions, travel, emotions, you name it. At DESMO, we are passionate about building the foundation of your life pursuits through financial planning and coaching. Massi De Santis is a fee-only, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional who acts as a sworn fiduciary.  Massi is a Ph.D. economist and a CFP® professional specializing in financial planning and behavioral economics. He has over 18 years of experience in solving complex financial problems for individuals, financial advisors, and endowments and foundations. Before founding DESMO Wealth, Massi held senior investment strategy positions at Dimensional Fund Advisors in Austin and Stone Ridge Asset Management in New York. Prior to moving to the financial services industry, Massi was an assistant professor at Dartmouth College, where he taught finance and macroeconomics. Massi’s accomplishments include the development of award winning strategies at Dimensional Fund Advisors and, with S&P Dow Jones, the development of the first set of indices that track retirement readiness (the S&P STRIDE indices). Massi has written numerous papers on financial planning, retirement, risk management, and portfolio selection. His academic research has been published in top tier academic journals like the American Economic Review and informs the way they design plans at DESMO. Massi is a public speaker and teacher, and has lectured at domestic and international universities, central banks, and professional organizations. Massi is member of the finance council at his local church, a member of the Knights of Columbus, and started out after college as a fireman in his hometown in Maremma, Italy. He moved to California to pursue his Ph.D. in economics and finance. He is married with 3 sons.  

More Details