Jean-Luc

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. Having to choose a major in high school, it is not a surprise that he chose to study business and economics. He then applied that knowledge to put himself through college with a variety of jobs including small business entrepreneur.  

As a result of his lifelong pursuit of financial knowledge to enrich life, Jean-Luc has a passion for guiding clients through their own financial options and life choices. By taking a coach approach, Jean-Luc empower clients to confidently follow their chosen path.  With technical expertise and perceptive insights, he provides guidance that is ultra-customized and holistic.  Jean-Luc excels at blending the quantitative elements of personal finance with the qualitative pursuits in which clients find purpose.        

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 Personal Financial Specialist credential (PFS) that is exclusive to CPAs specialized in financial planning.  

Professional Journey

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.  

Professional Involvement & Volunteering 

Jean-Luc is very active in the profession and received the 2017 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 contributed to several financial planning books and has been quoted in many national publications. He presented the California Society of CPA’s Dollars and Sense financial education workshop at UCSB. Jean-Luc was a speaker at the AICPA’s Advanced Personal Financial Planning Conference, the Personal Financial Planning Summit 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 served on the Personal Financial Planning committee of the California Society of CPAs for a decade.  He also served on the PFS Credential Committee and on the Personal Financial Planning Executive Committee of the AICPA.    

Other Credentials

In the past, Jean-Luc earned the following qualifications, and their certification is no longer active. 

• Certified Financial Planner (CFP) 
• Certified Professional Retirement Coach (CPRC)
• Global Financial Planner (GFP) 
• Board Certified Coach (BCC) with specialty designation as Executive/Corporate/Business/Leadership Coach and Personal/Life Coach   
• Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA)

Memberships

• American Institute of CPAs
• Global Financial Planning Institute
• National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA)
• Santa Barbara Estate Planning Council
• Institute of Coaching – McLean, Affiliate of Harvard Medical School
• International Center for Life Story Innovations and Practice