Raphael Aziz has spent the past 14 years helping individuals and families make informed decisions about their financial lives. Before joining Priority Wealth Partners, he served as a Vice President, Wealth Planner at Fidelity Investments. Today, he works with clients throughout San Diego, specializing in retirement, income, tax and legacy planning, with a particular emphasis on Roth conversion strategies.
Raphael especially enjoys working with people who are three to five years from retirement. He believes this period offers an important opportunity to make thoughtful decisions about savings, investments, taxes and future income before retirement begins.
His approach is grounded in a simple personal motto: Comfort over everything.
For Raphael, comfort does not mean avoiding every difficult decision or eliminating all investment risk. It means understanding what you own, why you own it and how each part of your financial plan is intended to support your life. He believes clients should be able to ask questions freely, receive answers in plain English and feel confident that they understand the decisions being made.
Financial markets will not always cooperate. We may not know exactly when the next decline will occur, how significant it will be or how long it will last. That is where planning becomes especially important. A thoughtful financial plan is designed to help clients continue living their lives when markets become uncertain—not put their goals on hold while they worry about their portfolios.
Raphael often thinks about the retiree who dreams for years of sitting at a café in Paris, only to finally arrive and spend the experience anxiously checking the market. He does not want that for his clients. He wants them to know that periods of volatility were considered in advance, so when the moments they have worked toward finally arrive, they can be present enough to enjoy them.
This philosophy shapes the way Raphael thinks about several important areas of planning:
Risk is a function of time. Short-term market movements can be unpredictable, while longer time horizons may provide investors with more opportunity to participate in the market’s long-term growth.
Income can help create time. A well-designed retirement income strategy may reduce the need to sell long-term investments at an unfavorable moment.
Taxes are a planning opportunity. The tax code provides a defined set of rules, and proactive planning can help clients make more informed decisions about when and how they recognize income.
Retirement should support your best life. After spending decades saving and preparing, retirement should not automatically become a period of unnecessary restriction. The purpose of the plan is to help clients use their resources confidently and enjoy the life they worked to create.
Raphael’s process begins by listening. Together, we identify what matters most, define the questions the plan needs to answer and co-create a financial analysis around the client’s goals. That planning work then opens the door to a more intelligent conversation about investments, income, taxes and legacy.
Although Raphael serves as the primary advisor to his clients, he works within the broader resources and experience of Priority Wealth Partners. Clients often appreciate his ability to combine those resources with a personal, practical approach—without relying on unnecessary industry jargon.
Raphael earned a Master of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Financial and Tax Planning and holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification.
Originally from New Jersey, Raphael appreciates the relaxed and welcoming nature of Southern California and is proud to serve the San Diego community. He and his wife, Kelly, have two children, Aurie and Orion, along with two dogs, Finley and Kaia. Outside the office, he enjoys sports—especially watching his son play basketball—and becoming more involved in his church community.
If you are approaching retirement and would like to better understand how your income, investments, taxes and legacy fit together, Raphael welcomes the opportunity to start a conversation.