Jay Lee

CFA®, CFP®

Ballaster Financial

Founder

Contact Me

Jay Lee

CFA®, CFP®

Ballaster Financial

Founder

As a fee-only financial planner, my focus is to offer unbiased financial advice to help you achieve your life goals. - Jay Lee, CFA®, CFP®

Contact Me

973-544-8061

Website

Fee-Only financial planner located in Jersey City, NJ, serving clients locally in the tri-state area and virtually across the country

Jay Lee is a Jersey City, NJ fee-only financial advisor serving clients locally and across the country. Ballaster Financial provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management to help working professionals and growing families organize, grow and protect their assets through life’s transitions. As a fee-only, fiduciary, and independent financial advisor, Jay Lee is never paid a commission of any kind, and has a legal obligation to provide unbiased and trustworthy financial advice.

Jay Lee is the founder of Ballaster Financial, an advisory practice dedicated to serving the needs of professionals and young families. Jay has close to two decades of experience across investment and wealth management.

Jay grew up in a household that was blown left and right chasing financial security. He watched his parents stash away their life’s savings into the heel of an old boot in order to immigrate from Korea to Australia, then to the US. They finally settled in New York where they hustled away 6 days a week, only to find themselves trying to retire without a plan, scrambling to catch up on lost time. 

Through this experience,  Jay is passionate about helping others create a plan to find financial security. Even though he largely grew up in the US, having been born to immigrant families, financial literacy was not a part of his household education. He wants to close that gap between those who grew up with wealth and those working towards it.

Jay lives with his wife Margaret in Jersey City and stays busy keeping his two young boys out of mischief.

Jay Lee is a Member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors - highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.

NAPFA members live by three important values:

  • To be the beacon for independent, objective financial advice for individuals and families.
  • To be the champion of financial services delivered in the public interest.
  • To be the standard bearer for the emerging profession of financial planning.

After almost two decades on Wall Street, Jay decided to follow his passion of helping like-minded working professionals and families achieve their financial goals.

With experience spanning across financial planning, investment research, portfolio construction, and alternative investments, Jay has extensive and diverse perspectives to help clients secure their financial futures. His client base has spanned the rising affluent to the ultra-high net worth.

Jay has attained the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP) and Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) certifications, widely considered gold standards in financial planning and investment designations.

As a fee-only fiduciary operating his own practice, Jay is motivated to leverage his experience to serve clients without the pressures or conflicts of interest that may be inherent in other firms.

Ballaster comes from the word ‘ballast’, a structure used to provide stability to ships and prevent vessels from tipping over. Therefore, Ballaster Financial was created to help clients navigate through complex and murky financial waters to experience the life they envision.

Fee-Only, Fiduciary, Independent: Three Important Criteria to Consider When Choosing a Financial Advisor.

Specialties

  • Comprehensive Financial Planning
  • Investment Management
  • Stock compensation
  • College Education Planning
  • Tax Planning
  • Alternative Investments

Ideal Clients

  • Growing Families
  • Working professionals
  • Startup employees
  • Novice Investors

Working Together

  • In-Office Meetings
  • Virtual Meetings
  • Clearly Defined Fees
  • No Product Sales
  • Complimentary Initial Consultation

Professional Designations & Affiliations

  • National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA)
    Jay Lee is a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor

    The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors—highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.

  • Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
    Jay Lee is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional - Click for Verification

    CFP® professionals are held to strict ethical standards to ensure financial planning recommendations are in your best interest. What’s more, a CFP® professional must acquire several years of experience related to delivering financial planning services to clients and pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Exam before they can use the CFP® designation.

  • CFA - Chartered Financial Analyst

    Jay Lee is a holder of the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation

    The CFA Program is the most respected and recognized investment management designation in the world with less than 200,000 charterholders globally.

    This advisor has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation (CFA® charter) by passing all three of the CFA exams and gaining relevant industry experience, demonstrating their mastery of the investment analysis and decision-making skills most needed in the global investment management profession.

  • XY Planning Network
    Jay Lee is a Member of the XY Planning Network

    The XY Planning Network is the leading organization of fee-only financial advisors who are focused on working with Generation X and Generation Y clients. Our mission is to connect consumers with best-in-class financial advisors who specialize in working with clients just like you.

  • CFA Institute

    Jay Lee is a Member of the CFA Institute

    The CFA Institute is a global, not-for-profit organization comprising the world’s largest association of investment professionals. With more than 170,000 members and 150 regional societies around the world, the organization is dedicated to developing and promoting the highest educational, ethical, and professional standards in the investment industry.

Contact Jay Lee

973-544-8061

Schedule a Call With Me
Please enter your name
Please enter a valid 10 digit US phone number in the format xxx-yyy-zzzz
Please enter a valid email address
Please leave a message for the advisor.
Clear Form
Please verify that you aren't a robot.
There was an issue sending your message. If this issue persists, please contact support.
Message Sent! Your message info will be displayed in other advisor contact forms to make it easy to send to multiple advisors. We do not share your message content beyond the advisors you choose.

Office Locations:

  • 200 5th Street
    Jersey City, NJ 07302

Ballaster Financial LLC (“Ballaster Financial”) is a registered investment advisor offering advisory services in the State of New Jersey and in other jurisdictions where exempted. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The presence of this website on the Internet shall not be directly or indirectly interpreted as a solicitation of investment advisory services to persons of another jurisdiction unless otherwise permitted by statute. Follow-up or individualized responses to consumers in a particular state by Ballaster Financial in the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation shall not be made without our first complying with jurisdiction requirements or pursuant an applicable state exemption. All written content on this site is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Ballaster Financial, unless otherwise specifically cited. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to other parties’ informational accuracy or completeness. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation.

Outdated Browser Detected!

If you're seeing this message, it's because the web browser you're using to access our site is much older and no longer supported. Due to privacy and safety concerns, we don't allow older browsers to access our site. In order to access WhyFiduciary.com, please use a newer browser, like Internet Explorer 10 or above, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox.

Download a newer browser