Matthew Gast

Matthew Gast is a financial planner with Equitable Advisors who helps clients navigate important financial decisions with clarity, confidence, and a long-term perspective. His approach is rooted in education, collaboration, and disciplined planning—principles he developed while leading NASA’s spacewalk training program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where he guided astronauts through the full training and development process from start to finish.

Drawing on that unique experience, Matthew brings a calm, structured, and highly personalized process to financial planning. He works closely with clients to identify their goals, understand their priorities, and build strategies designed to support the future they envision. Whether the focus is retirement planning, education planning, or risk management, Matthew partners with clients to create practical plans, implement them thoughtfully, and adjust them over time as markets shift and life evolves.

Matthew holds FINRA Securities Registrations Series 7, 63, and 65, along with Life, Accident & Health Insurance licenses. He also holds the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP) designations from The American College of Financial Services. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1999 and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2010.

Matthew and his wife, Karin, live in Weston, Wisconsin, with their sons, Tristan and Beckett.

"This time" is never different . . .

If we believe in the investment approach we have chosen, we can likely avoid the classic investment mistakes which often cause investors to underperform their own investments.

This is not a strategy built on the notions of timing and selection. Timing cannot be done successfully on a consistent basis. Selection, although counterintuitive in this world of streaming information, is nothing more than a refinement to a well-designed portfolio.

At its foundation, such a portfolio consists of three principles and three practices. Using these, we can weather market changes with confidence and realize the potential for long-term financial success.

Principles

• Faith – Maintain a long-term belief in the future

• Patience – Maintain a long-term belief in time-tested practices

• Discipline – Maintain restraint, even in the face of chaos

Practices

• Asset Allocation – Determine what percentage of the portfolio's investments are in equities versus debt instruments

• Diversification – Determine a broad set of viable portfolio investments to reflect the client's goals and risk tolerance

• Annual Rebalance – Reset the allocation and diversification annually to capture gains and reinvest in undervalued investments

_{The RICP®, (Retirement Income Certified Professional®) designation is sought by financial services sales professionals whose focus includes clients planning for their retirement income. The designation’s required curriculum is administered by The American College in Bryn Mawr, PA, which is accredited by The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Philadelphia, PA 19104. The mark RICP® is the property of The American College and may be used only by individuals who have successfully completed the initial and ongoing certification requirements for this designation. Complaints about a designee can be made by e-mail at Registrar@TheAmericanCollege.edu. or by calling 888-263-7265. To verify a designee, visit http://www.designationcheck.com.}

_{California Insurance License #: 0M76182}

_{Securities and investment advisory services offered through Equitable Advisors, LLC (NY,NY 212-314-4600), member FINRA/SIPC(Equitable Financial Advisors in MI & TN). Annuity and insurance products offered through Equitable Network, LLC and its insurance agency subsidiaries. Equitable Network, LLC does business in California as Equitable Network Insurance Agency of California, LLC, in Utah as Equitable Network Insurance Agency of Utah, LLC, and in Puerto Rico as Equitable Network of Puerto Rico, Inc. Equitable Advisors and its affiliates do not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals may transact business and/or respond to inquiries only in state(s) in which they are properly registered and/or licensed. The information in this web site is not investment or securities advice and does not constitute an offer.}

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