Jean-Luc Bourdon
CPA, PFS, GFP
Lucent Wealth Planning, LLC
Wealth Advisor & Founder
Jean-Luc Bourdon
CPA, PFS, GFP
Lucent Wealth Planning, LLC
Wealth Advisor & Founder
As a CPA, I'm proud to abide by long-standing professional standards that have been unwavaringly serving clients and society. - Jean-Luc Bourdon, CPA, PFS, GFP
Fee-Only financial planner located in Santa Barbara, CA, serving clients locally and across the country

Jean-Luc Bourdon is a Santa Barbara, CA fee-only financial planner. Lucent Wealth Planning, LLC provides objective wealth management, financial planning, and tax strategies to help individuals, families, and trustees organize, grow and protect their assets through life’s transitions. As a fee-only, fiduciary, and independent financial advisor, Jean-Luc Bourdon is never paid a commission of any kind, and has a legal obligation to provide unbiased and trustworthy financial advice. As a CPA, he answers to financial planning standards rooted in professionalism.
Born in Belgium, the youngest of four children raised by a single-mother, Jean-Luc Bourdon confronted issues such as budgeting and money management at an early age. He then realized the importance of planning wise financial decisions to get by and achieve personal goals, big or small.
Jean-Luc has a BS in Business Administration with a Finance concentration and an Accounting minor. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who earned the PFS (Personal Financial Specialist) credential from the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).
Jean-Luc joined a Santa Barbara accounting firm in 2003 and developed its affiliated wealth management firm. Jean-Luc teamed up with Kozak Financial Advisory in 2011. The firm then became BrightPath Wealth Planning, LLC. In 2018, Jean-Luc founded Lucent Wealth Planning, LLC.
Jean-Luc is very active in the profession and received the 2018 Personal Financial Planning Distinguished Service Award from the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). Jean-Luc often speaks and writes about financial planning. He was a regular contributor to CPA Insider, a newsletter from the AICPA. Jean-Luc also wrote articles published in the Pacific Coast Business Times, AICPA Wealth Management Insider, The Tax Adviser and the Journal of Accountancy. Jean-Luc was quoted by various publications including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and USA Today. Jean-Luc presented the California Society of CPA’s Dollars and Sense financial education workshop at UCSB. He was a speaker at the AICPA’s Advanced Personal Financial Planning Conference and the AICPA Conference on Tax Strategies for the High-Income Individual. He is a member of the Athena Study Group, a national, invitation-only group of top CPA financial planners. Jean-Luc currently serves on the Personal Financial Planning committee of the California Society of CPAs. In the past, he served on the PFS Credential Committee and on the Personal Financial Planning Executive Committee of the AICPA.
Jean-Luc and his wife Renee live in Carpinteria. They enjoy hiking local trails with Rosie, their standard poodle.
Jean-Luc Bourdon 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.
We are devoted to providing perceptive insights and technical expertise to guide individuals, families, and trustees.
Lucent Wealth Planning, LLC is an independent member of the Buckingham Strategic Partners, a community of more than 130 independent wealth management firms throughout the United States. Together, we share the institutional resources, experience and thought-leadership of a large network and the shared vision of a better way to serve clients.
As Jean-Luc sees it, being an independent member of Buckingham Strategic Partners gives us resources to serve clients in the best way we can imagine without the pressure of institutional goals.
Fee-Only, Fiduciary, Independent: Three Important Criteria to Consider When Choosing a Financial Advisor.
Specialties
- Ultra-Customized Financial Planning
- Clarifying & Optimizing Complexity
- Life Transitions
- Legacy Planning
- Tax Planning
- Cross-Border Planning
- Investment Management
Ideal Clients
- High-Net Worth Families
- Trustees, POAs & Caregivers
- Individuals with New Financial Complexity
- Cross-Border Families
Working Together
- In-Office Meetings
- Virtual Meetings
- Clearly Defined Fees
- No Product Sales
- Complimentary Initial Consultation
Professional Designations & Affiliations
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Jean-Luc Bourdon 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.
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is a Certified Public Accountant (Learn More)
A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is a professional accountant who has met the education and experience requirements set by their state's Board of Accountancy and has passed the Uniform CPA Exam. CPAs are licensed to provide a wide range of accounting services, including financial statement preparation, tax planning and preparation, auditing, consulting, and other financial advisory services.
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is a Personal Financial Specialist (PFS)
The Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) credential is granted solely to CPAs (Certified Public Accountants) with considerable personal financial planning education and experience. All areas of personal financial planning—including estate, retirement, investments, and insurance—have tax implications, and the PFS professional has the experience, ethics, and expertise to get the job done right.
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Jean-Luc Bourdon Earned a Certificate as a Global Financial Planner from the Global Financial Planning Institute
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is Quoted in USA Today: "Retirees: 4 ways you can start planning for possible tax law changes now"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is Quoted in USA Today: "Filed your taxes? Time to do a financial plan"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is Quoted in USA Today: "Retirement: What to do if your defined benefit pension plan is frozen"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is Quoted in US News and World Report: "No Kids? You Still Need an Estate Plan"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is Quoted in the Wall Street Journal: "Wealth Adviser: The Growing Popularity of Direct Investments"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is Quoted in the Wall Street Journal: "Voices: Jean-Luc Bourdon, on Clients You Don't Know You Have"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is Quoted in The Washington Post: "Five Ways to Increase Your Risk of the IRS Auditing Your Taxes"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is Quoted in the New York Times: "House Value Jumping? Save Your Home Improvement Receipts"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is Quoted in the New York Times: "As Cognition Slips, Financial Skills Are Often the First to Go"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is a Member of the 2021-22 Personal Finance Planning Committee for the California Society of CPAs
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is a Member of the Santa Barbara Estate Planning Council
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AICPA Honors Jean-Luc Bourdon with Personal Financial Planning Distinguished Service Award
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is Quoted on TheStreet.com: "How the GOP Tax Bill Impacts Your House and Mortgage Interest Deduction"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is Quoted in the Journal of Accountancy: "Talk about more than money when readying clients for retirement"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is Quoted in the Journal of Accountancy: "Preparing for future health needs"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon was a Featured Speaker at the AICPA Conference Presenting: "Supporting your clients to pursue their changing life priorities"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon is Quoted in CPA Practice Advisor: "The Tops Skills Financial Planners Need to Succeed"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon Contributes to Pacific Coast Business Times: "Personal finance really family finance"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon Contributes to Pacific Coast Business Times: "Op/ed: The impressive health benefits of volunteering"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon Contributes to Pacific Coast Business Times: "Op/ed: How the right amount of happiness can literally enrich your life"
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Jean-Luc Bourdon Contributes to The Tax Adviser: "Background and Methods of Integrative Tax Practice"
Contact Jean-Luc Bourdon
Office Locations:
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2920 De La Vina Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93105