Garrett Wheeler
Aloha, I’m Garrett Wheeler.
Founder and Principal Advisor, SEA Financial Hawaiʻi
I was born and raised on Maui and grew up in a super tight-knit family with two brothers. My parents were married for 63 years, and they were—and continue to be—great role models for me in both life and business. I learned early the value of family, hard work, resilience, and treating people right.
After earning my degree in Economics and Political Science from UCLA, I returned home to Hawaiʻi and helped my family bring the Successories® franchise to the islands. Building and running a business taught me lessons no classroom could—what it means to serve people well, navigate uncertainty, and make important decisions when your livelihood is on the line. Those experiences continue to shape how I work with business owners and families today.
I’ve been helping individuals, families, and business owners make important financial decisions since 2001. I founded SEA Financial Hawaii on those same principles: personal service, transparency, independence, and doing what’s right for the people who trust me with their financial lives. SEA was built on the legacy of The Wheeler Group LLC, which I established in 2001, and reflects how I believe financial advice should be delivered today.
- Personal service
- Transparency
- Independence
- Doing what’s right
Established The Wheeler Group LLC and began guiding financial decisions
Founded SEA Financial Hawaiʻi
Fee-only fiduciary and Registered Investment Adviser, independent of banks, insurance companies, and brokerage firms.
I’m a fee-only fiduciary and Registered Investment Adviser. SEA is independent of banks, insurance companies, brokerage firms, and Wall Street sales organizations. I don’t earn commissions for recommending investments or sell proprietary financial products. My clients pay me for advice, which keeps the relationship focused on what matters most: their goals, their decisions, and their lives.
Today, I work with pre-retirees, business owners, retirees, and multigenerational households across Hawaiʻi and beyond. My role goes well beyond managing an investment portfolio. I help clients bring together retirement income, investments, taxes, estate planning, business decisions, and the many financial choices that come with life’s changes.
I believe good financial planning starts with listening. Before I recommend anything, I want to understand where you are, where you want to go, and what matters most to you. From there, my job is to simplify the complex, help you understand your choices, and provide advice you can act on with confidence.
Today, I live on Ala Moana Boulevard with my beautiful wife, Michelle. I’m grateful for the family, experiences, and people who have shaped who I am—and I try to bring those same values into the way I work with every client.
That’s the heart of SEA: Strategic Economic Advice, delivered with Professional Aloha™.
Three Things to Know About GW
Of course, there’s more to me than financial planning. Here are three things that might give you a better sense of the person behind SEA.
I played in the World Series.
Well, the Pony League World Series in 1979 in Davenport, Iowa—not exactly Yankee Stadium. Still, it was the World Series, and I’m sticking with it.
I once worked at Disneyland to save on tuition.
While attending UCLA, I worked at Disneyland one summer to establish California residency and qualify for lower tuition. My baseball buddies came to visit and found me in my orange jumpsuit working at Space Mountain. That’s where I first learned what a “spiel” was—and that apparently, you can say the same thing hundreds of times and still be expected to sound enthusiastic.
I come from resilient island stock.
My maternal family, the Andrades, traces its roots to Madeira and the Azores—beautiful islands in the Atlantic that are sometimes called the “Hawaii of the Atlantic.” On my father’s side, my grandmother’s family came from the Isle of Man, whose flag features three armored legs and carries an old motto: Quocunque jeceris stabit—“Whithersoever you throw it, it will stand.”
I’ve always liked that idea: wherever life puts you, stand your ground, adapt, and keep moving forward. Maybe that’s part of the island in me. Aloha!