I began my career in the financial services industry more than 15 years ago, during my college years, as an intern at LPL Financial, one of the nation’s largest independent broker-dealers and registered investment advisory (RIA) firms. I graduated from the University of New Orleans with a bachelor’s degree in finance, and I quickly passed the Series 7 exam (LPL Financial) and the Series 66 exam (NewEdge Advisors). Since 2007, I have had the privilege of building my entire career with LPL, maintaining an uninterrupted and rewarding journey from the very beginning.

As a young advisor in my 20s, I understood that the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designations aligned with the two foundations of my clients’ needs. The most effective way for me to speak with confidence on the complex subjects these designations cover was to deepen my expertise. So, I earned my CFP® designation in 2013 and became a CFA Charterholder in 2017.

My parents worked with an independent financial advisor, and they actually invited me to sit in and listen as they planned their retirement. That drove my initial interest, and in fact, I even ended up working with that advisor until after I graduated.

Over time, I came to recognize that many hardworking individuals and retirees often faced challenges accessing the quality financial guidance they deserved. Many of their financial planning questions went unanswered, and they were frequently sold high-fee, commissioned investment products without a clear strategy tailored to their needs. These individuals had saved and planned for decades, built a strong financial foundation, and earned the right to clear, transparent, and effective financial strategies.

With proper planning, and with the use of Monte Carlo simulations, I constructed portfolios to help these workers achieve their goal of living off their portfolio while still growing their nest egg. I did that by utilizing a mix of low-cost index exchange-traded funds (ETFs), actively managed mutual funds, and individual stocks.*

Now, I continue to seek out clients who require the same level of dedication and quality of service. I listen to each client’s unique story and goals. I give each client full transparency into my process and fees.

In addition to my work with clients, I’m also a member of the CFA Society of Louisiana. I’m also a frequent industry mentor for Nicholls State University’s CFA Challenge, and I’m occasionally a guest speaker at university finance club events.

In my free time, I enjoy exploring new places and being outdoors with my daughters, Nina and Clara, and my wife Duygu, a finance professor.

My path to financial advising has run through a pair of S&P 500 companies and my own small business.

I began work as a financial analyst at Entergy Corporation, a large utility firm headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. After ascending my way through several financial and regulatory roles with the company, my boss and mentor recommended I pursue a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license to further my career.

Before sitting for the CPA exams, I needed to fulfill several pre-requisite course credits from the University of New Orleans to supplement the courses already taken when I earned my B.A. in Economics and B.S. in Finance and Business Administration from Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana and my M.S. in Applied Economics from Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania.

After finishing my course requirements and passing all four of the CPA exams, I earned my CPA license in 2018.

Once my license was in hand, I quickly began to recognize a growing demand for financial guidance from my social circle. The frequent questions from my wife’s colleagues in particular prompted me to explore a more effective path toward answering their questions: starting a website, Young and the Invested, to publish answers for all to read.

Shortly thereafter, I moved on from Entergy and joined Google as a senior financial analyst amid a move westward to be closer to family. But I continued to maintain the site, and as the number of questions from readers grew, I realized just how many people lacked clear, concise, and personalized money advice. This realization guided me to get my Series 65 license and become a financial advisor, where I could leverage my knowledge and skills into providing not just general guidance, but tailored solutions to their specific needs.

My personality lends itself to explaining the ins and outs of financial decisions, whether simple or complex. So I don’t just give clients a financial plan—I provide them with the time, answers, and context they need to feel confident in carrying out that plan.

In my free time, I enjoy taking my two sons, Connor and Cyrus, and wife, Lily, a dermatologist, to parks and community events around the San Francisco Bay Area.

Dr. Duygu Zirek serves as the Director of Investment Research & Client Strategy at Prestenback Wealth, where she applies her expertise in financial markets, empirical asset pricing, and investment strategy to support the firm’s investment research and portfolio development.

Before joining Prestenback Wealth, Dr. Zirek spent eight years as a tenured finance professor at the University of New Orleans (UNO), where she taught PhD, MBA, and graduate-level courses in investments, financial econometrics, and corporate finance. She later transitioned to Montclair State University, where she continues to teach and contribute to academic research. Her work has been published in leading finance journals, including the Journal of Corporate Finance, Global Finance Journal, and Research in International Business and Finance.

Dr. Zirek earned her PhD in Financial Economics from the City University of New York and her BA in Economics from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. She is a member of the Financial Management Association and an affiliate member of the CFA Institute.

At Prestenback Wealth, Dr. Zirek leads the firm’s investment research and strategy initiatives, helping to refine portfolio allocation models, market outlooks, and risk management frameworks. Her academic background and extensive research experience provide a data-driven foundation for the firm’s investment approach.

Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, discovering new cuisines, and spending time outdoors with her husband, Roland, and their twin daughters, Nina and Clara.