Meet Our Team of Financial Advisors
EACH KĀLĀ TEAM MEMBER STANDS BY THE FIDUCIARY OATH
Born and raised on Oahu, Ethan grew up with a passion for business and an immense interest in the subject of money. He graduated from Punahou School on Oahu and went on to Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business in New York City and London, where he gained a deeper understanding of his passions for money, entrepreneurship, and marketing.
With over nine years of client-facing industry experience and the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certificate, Ethan has a deep understanding of personal finance and what it takes for people to achieve their goals.
As an Eagle Scout, Ethan has adopted the same scouting mottos and principles into his business practices. These guiding principles are the foundation he leans on while building trust and demonstrating his competency as an advisor. When Ethan is not working you can find him surfing ocean swells, diving for seashells with his partner, Marissa, playing fetch or hiking with his dog, Luna, and practicing the martial art of Jiu-Jitsu.
Born and raised in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu, Chris grew up with a deep understanding of the importance of family, long-term planning, and the power of generational wealth. He enjoys teaching his clients the same financial lessons he learned from growing up in place with an extremely high cost of living and a low average salary. By providing guidance and advice toward his clients’ life goals, he can combine his passion for finance with his desire to help his community. Upon college graduation, Chris found his calling in the financial services industry and has not looked back.
Chris attended high school at Iolani School and earned his degree in Business with a Chinese minor at the University of Puget Sound. Here, he participated in several organizations, ranging from intramural soccer and Division 3 track and field to the Puget Sound Investment Club. Chris is constantly strengthening his understanding of the financial world as a student of the CFA® Institute. In his free time, Chris can be found playing chess with friends.
April was born and raised on Oahu and grew up paddling outrigger canoes. Through paddling, April learned the importance of teamwork, but more importantly how to optimize a team's output by keeping everyone in sync moving towards a common goal.
April attended Castle High School and went on to graduate from the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaii with a degree in finance. She began her professional career working in banking, then transitioned to a client-facing role as a financial planner. Due to April's exceptional attention to detail and drive to support a team, she has decided to focus her talents on the backend support that goes into running a financial planning business.
When April is not working, you can find her coaching high school paddling students, fishing the local waters, or soaking in the sunshine at Kaneohe sandbar.
Carl Choy, Founding Principal of CKW & Key Advisor to Kala Capital Partners
A co-founding principal of CKW Financial Group and a GIPS-compliant RIA providing discretionary asset allocation portfolios to help good people and organizations be financially better.
Before starting CKW in Honolulu, Hawaii, Carl served as Senior Vice-President of Investments, Senior Institutional Consultant, and Senior Portfolio Manager for Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch; and served as associate faculty for the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the College for Financial Planning, teaching “Manager Search & Due Diligence” for Investment Management Consultants Association’s (IMCA). His public speaking includes Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch training seminars, IMCA’s annual expos, and conferences sponsored by organizations such as Institutional Investor, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, and the National Captive Insurance Association.
While at Morgan Stanley, Ms. Lynne Kinney and Mr. Carl Choy were the west coast ESOP specialists and Pacific Basin Institutional Consulting representatives. Now, they co-manage CKW’s Opportunistic Global Balanced Portfolio which has a 19-year, independently audited track record, a Top 5% rank by Morningstar, and an AUM of 750+ million of 1.5 billion. Since its inception at Morgan Stanley, the Opportunistic Global Balanced Portfolio represents CKW’s fully discretionary asset allocation and manager selection portfolio and is available through Envestnet, Fidelity SAN, and Cetera.
