Photo provided | From left to right: Jessica Woods, Andrew Boungnavong, Logan Sumter, Tina Mistry, Remington (Remy) Flores (dog), McKade Gleason, AJ Flores, Aaron de Guzman.

A Central Valley financial advisory firm is celebrating over 30 decades in business this month.

Founded by certified financial planner Gary Leffler in Fresno, Portfolio Advisors, Inc. is celebrating its 35th anniversary this September.

The firm offers several services including financial planning, investment management, retirement planning, tax planning, estate planning, charitable giving, and risk management.

Leffler’s son Mike, joined the firm in the mid-90s and became the owner of the firm in the early 2000s following Leffler’s retirement.

Today, Tina Mistry, serves as president, CEO, and senior financial advisor at the firm. Mistry joined the firm in 2006, and became a managing partner with Ken Hatfield in 2014.

Hatfield retired in 2020, followed by Mike in 2021, making Mistry the sole-owner of the firm in September 2021.

Mistry said the firm is local and home grown, independent and not tied to any major bank or brokerage house.

“When you walk into Portfolio Advisors — it’s seven folks here who are valley natives,” Mistry said “It’s very much a boutique type of planning firm. The founder wanted the ability to work with people long term throughout their entire life time and build relationships.”

That principle has not changed, she said.

Mistry said that the firm still has clients from when it first opened, and working with some of the third or fourth generation of the families that Leffler originally served.

A large part of the firm’s clientele consists of people who are just a years away from retirement, as well as teachers, administrators, federal and public sector employees, healthcare employees, as well business owners and C-suite executives.

Busyness of business

Mistry describes business owners as experts at running their business and want to spend time making their operations more streamlined and efficient, and hiring and training the right people.

“We want to shoulder a lot of the personal financial aspects,” she said. “Are they taking advantage of the right tax strategies, do they have an estate plan lined up to take care of themselves and their family. A lot of business owners just don’t have the time to manage their own financial affairs so we want to have them delegate that to us.”

Business owners not only want a financial advisor that they can trust, but one that helps them save money on taxes, and benefit plans that help their employees and attract good talent, Mistry said.

Despite the politically divisive climate in the U.S., increased costs, and economic and market pressures, Mistry said she advises clients to focus on things they can control, such as their spending and saving.

While President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” passed into law in July does have some disadvantages regarding taxes, she said there are some key pieces in the bill that are effective in 2025 and will help tax payers, Mistry said.

Mistry tells her clients to brace for volatility and uncertainty when regarding tariffs and policies that may impact the market, and to make sure they have a solid emergency savings to help have a back stop in light of unfortunate events.

She said that some people have trouble telling a good financial advisor apart from a bad one, but Portfolio Advisors is passionate about is helping educate the general public on what to look for when seeking financial advice.

“People like the idea of someone they can trust, call, and be straightforward with them,” Mistry said. “They want us to be completely candid and honest with them. We are going to help them with not only achieving their goals but also help them win they hit those bumps in the road.”