Roy Y. Gagaza (Roy Y Gagaza)

Roy Y. Gagaza serves as president and CEO of Journey Wealth Management, a firm with offices in Manteca, California, and in Aiea and Honolulu, Hawaii, where he helps people prepare for retirement through steady and realistic planning. He draws on his business marketing background and many years of leadership to explain financial topics in straightforward language. He focuses on carefully listening to each client’s goals, family needs, and concerns so that retirement strategies are understandable, suitable, and built to support long-term financial stability.

Roy began his professional journey in the U.S. Army Reserve and later transitioned to active duty, serving more than twenty years as an Armor Officer. He became airborne and ranger qualified, led a tank platoon with the 1st Armored Division during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, and later commanded a cavalry troop in South Korea. He also served as an operations and training officer, helping units from company to brigade level prepare for deployments during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, earning the Bronze Star for his service.

Roy Y. Gagaza started planning his second career while still on active duty, using limited free time to meet with clients, lead educational seminars, and pursue professional designations as a Certified Estate Planner and Registered Financial Consultant. He continued this work even during a year-long deployment to Kuwait in 2004, gradually building the foundation for the financial practice he would later lead. After retiring from the Army in 2008, he chose to continue serving others by helping individuals and families seek greater clarity and confidence in their financial futures.

Roy now focuses his practice on retirement planning, investment and wealth management, tax planning, health care strategies, and legacy and estate services. He has been inducted into the Advisors Excel Hall of Fame and has received the Advisors Excel Elite Advisor Award every year since 2018. He has also been honored with the Security Benefit Elite Advisor Award in 2018 and 2020, and the Allianz Century Award for achieving $100 million in premium, viewing these milestones as reflections of client trust and team effort.

Gagaza approaches each relationship with a disciplined yet patient mindset shaped by his military experience, encouraging clients to think carefully about what they want life after full-time work to look like. He believes that “living the dream” in retirement is built step by step in the years leading up to it, not at the last moment. He designs strategies that aim to help protect assets, support meaningful income, and remain flexible. He regularly offers seminars for pre-retirees and retirees focused on asset preservation and tax-efficient retirement income planning.

Roy Y. Gagaza holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Marketing from San Jose State University, is a Certified Estate Planner and Registered Financial Consultant, and maintains insurance licenses in Hawaii (458231) and California (0L87925). He is originally from Livermore, California, on the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay Area. He and his spouse are partners in life and in the firm, raising three children whose careers span finance, education, and business. He is a proud grandfather who enjoys time in the water, golfing, traveling, paddleboarding, snorkeling, diving, reading, and supporting organizations that assist veterans, food banks, animal rescue, and backcountry trail preservation.

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