Jason Labrum, CFP®, AIF®

Founder | CEO

Carlsbad, CA

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Biography

Jason's career in financial services began in 1998, when he set out to help individuals, families, and businesses navigate comprehensive financial planning, portfolio management, and business retirement plans. After spending 12 years with two major Wall Street brokerage firms, Jason saw a better way to serve clients — one built on independence and true fiduciary duty. In 2009, he founded Intelligence Driven Advisers (IDA).

Since then, Jason has grown IDA from the ground up into a firm with more than 1,000 Private Wealth clients, 100 Company Retirement Plans, 22 employees, and $1.6B+ in assets under management. In 2015, driven by a mission to deliver transparent, no-nonsense financial education to the masses, he launched Financial Detox® — a consumer advocacy brand that's grown to include a bestselling book (2018), a radio show, and a podcast available on every major platform. Jason's insight has also been featured in Fox Business, CNBC, Forbes, Newsmax Finance, and Investor's Business Daily.

Jason is deeply rooted in his community, has served on the Board of Directors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Carlsbad and involved with the Safety Committee at Daybreak Community Church.

Outside of IDA, Jason is happiest outdoors and pushing his limits — he's summited Half Dome, chases fresh powder skiing and heli-skiing, and can be found fly fishing in Montana or Idaho or out on a surfboard when the swell is right. But nothing beats Friday nights in the fall, when Jason and his wife Alison are in the stands cheering on his boys playing high school football. Family, adventure, and staying active are what fuel him.

Awards & Recognition

Co-host, Financial Detox® — nationally syndicated financial education show/podcast

Affiliations & Memberships

CFP Board — Certified Financial Planner™ certificant, in good standing
Financial Detox® — Co-host
Boys & Girls Club — Executive Board Member (2002-2020)

Credentials & Designations

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®)
- Credential ID: 120142
Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®)
Bachelors Degree, SDSU

Specialties & Focus Areas

Wealth Management
Investments
Retirement Planning
Strategic Financial Planning
Financial Advisory
Portfolio Management

Philosophy

I spent twelve years with two major Wall Street brokerage firms before founding Intelligence Driven Advisers in 2009. That experience shaped my thinking more than any single lesson could have: I saw firsthand how easily the interests of a firm and the interests of a client can diverge, and I built IDA specifically to close that gap.

I've never believed financial planning needs to be complicated. It becomes complicated when the incentives around it favor obscurity over clarity. Much of my work — and much of what I care about professionally — has been about removing that friction. That conviction is what led me to launch Financial Detox® in 2015, and later to write the book and host the podcast and radio show under that name.

I think of planning as infrastructure, not an end in itself. Its value shows up in what it makes possible — the freedom to step back from a business without fear of what happens next, to be present for your family without financial noise in the background, to make decisions based on what you want your life to look like rather than what your balance sheet allows. That idea, at its simplest, is what I mean when I talk about investing well in order to live free.

That same principle guides how I spend my time outside of work. I have served on the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Carlsbad and am part of Kingdom Builders Community at Daybreak Community Church, because I think a well-built life extends into the community around you, not just your own household. And I try to stay active — outdoors because I don't think a good life is something to defer until some later date. It's something to build toward deliberately, starting now. That's the throughline in my work: build the plan well enough that it disappears into the background, so life can take the foreground.

Testimonials

“I knew that I was on a different journey and a different path, and I needed a more specific, built-out roadmap for my financial health as I made my way into the next phase of my career and closer to retirement … I typically work directly with Jason and additional members of his team, and the experience has been fantastic. He knows everything there is to know about creating a very healthy portfolio, but one that is risk-averse, which is something that's important to me.”

Rachel