OUR STORY

Cristina is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Registered Life Planner® meaning she’s trained to give guidance on every aspect of an individual’s financial life while making the connection to how these factor into one’s most important goals. After a childhood filled with financial hardships, she spent the better part of a decade working for one of the largest institutional asset managers in the world (while successfully paying off over $100,000 in student loans and buying a house!).  She grew dissatisfied with the state of the finance industry, particularly in the way it fails to serve the needs of women.

Stephanie is a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst®, meaning she’s a whiz at tax and financial analysis. After a decade in the hedge fund industry, she recognized that investment management was only a small piece of the service that individuals truly need to be confident in their financial lives.

Cristina and Stephanie quit the corporate world in 2018 and teamed up to change the industry. Together, they began brainstorming the most effective ways to serve the public and to get people talking about money without fear or shame. They started their own Registered Investment Advisor, Mana Financial Life Design, and founded Mana Money School as a way to empower everyone around the basics of personal finance.