People sometimes ask me how A.E.I. Financial Group came to be. The honest answer is that it was born as a result of a 5 months sabbatical in Vail, Colorado where I skied and worked in the Sonnenalp Hotel. I need to find a way to work more directly with clients and it started with my tax and bookkeeping business Doing Business As A.E.I. Financial Group starting in May, 1990 — it was also the culmination years later of a deliberate, years-long conviction that I could do more for clients independently than I ever could working within a large institution.
My professional path was not a straight line. I began in tax preparation — the unglamorous foundation of financial services — before moving into the corporate world: First at Bechtel Power Corporation where I was in the Controller Training Program for a year after graduate school; bank business development; followed by years as a controller for mid-sized corporations. Finally, as a financial auditor for Electronic Data Systems, the technology and consulting firm founded by Ross Perot. EDS was one of the most demanding professional environments I have ever worked in, and it sharpened my understanding of how large organizations think about risk, compliance, and financial strategy at scale.
The Moment I Knew I Needed to Build My Own Path
After 16 years in the corporate world, I had accumulated a level of financial expertise that very few independent advisors possess. I understood accounting at the controller level. I understood how banks evaluate business risk. I understood how large organizations audit and stress-test financial systems. And I realized that the clients who needed that kind of depth most — individuals and families building toward retirement — rarely have access to it.
In 2004, I made the decision to leave the corporate world and go full time into what had been a side business: A.E.I. Financial Strategies, built around my initials — Albert Eric Imbuelten. The history of A.E.I. began in 1990 as a I started where the need was most urgent: health insurance and fixed annuities. I wanted to create a genuine pathway from insurance solutions to full-scale wealth management — and to do it as an independent broker, so I could always put the client's interest first, without the constraints of a proprietary product shelf.
Building the Pathway
It took discipline and patience. Establishing credibility as an independent advisor means earning every client relationship through performance and trust — there is no institutional brand to lean on. But that independence is also our greatest strength. When I recommend a strategy to a client, it is because it is the right strategy for them — not because it meets a sales quota.
By 2006, A.E.I. Financial Strategies Inc. was officially incorporated. Over the years that followed, we built out our wealth management capabilities — adding estate planning, risk management, and tax planning expertise — until we became the full-service firm we are today, operating as A.E.I. Financial Group, based in Santa Rosa and serving clients across Northern California.
"Independence is not just a business model. It is a commitment to the client."
What This Means for You
When you work with A.E.I. Financial Group, you are not working with a franchise or a captive agent operating within institutional constraints. You are working directly with an advisor who has spent more than 20 years in financial services — across tax preparation, corporate accounting, banking, auditing, insurance, and wealth management — and who built this firm specifically to serve clients who deserve that depth of experience.
Our client base today is made up primarily of pre-retirees, business owners, and retirees in the North Bay who want more than a transaction. They want a relationship built on expertise, transparency, and a genuine commitment to their long-term financial well-being.
That is what I left the corporate world to build. And I am proud to say — it worked.