More Than Money: How Brian Salcetti Helps Clients Step Into Life’s Next Chapter
Sandbox Spotlight: Brian Salcetti
I’ve poured wine for widows and written dating bios with divorcees. I’ve helped retirees realize they can finally stop worrying and instead, start enjoying the wealth they’ve worked so hard to achieve.
Financial planning, at its best, is about helping people live with more peace, purpose, and confidence. This interview shares some insights into my journey, including why I left a good job in 2013, why we started Sandbox Financial, and why I believe real planning begins with trust.
If you’ve ever wondered what Live More, Worry Less really means, I hope this gives you a glimpse.
Brian Salcetti has done a lot more for his clients than rebalance portfolios or optimize retirement accounts. He’s sat with them in moments of heartbreak and transition—after a spouse passed away, after a divorce—and helped them take the first brave steps into a new chapter. In some cases, that’s meant setting up dating profiles, hiring photographers, and even pouring a glass of wine while they crafted a bio together. “That’s not in any job description,” Brian says, “but it’s who we are.”
At Sandbox Financial Partners, the mission goes far beyond managing money and helping clients plan for the future. For Brian, the most rewarding part of the job is seeing a client’s shoulders relax when they realize they can actually retire, and truly believe it. “Sometimes we tell people, ‘You’ve saved too well. Go spend more. Go enjoy your life,’” he says. “That’s what we mean by Live More, Worry Less.”
“Those moments are powerful,” Brian adds. “We’re not just here to grow money. We’re here to give people confidence to live the life they’ve worked so hard to achieve.
In 2013, Brian left a high-paying job to pursue something more meaningful, something more grounded, in financial planning and wealth management. Two years later, he partnered with Fred Bohlander. And in September 2018, they launched Sandbox Financial Partners with Brian’s brother, Andrew (read his Sandbox profile), with about $100 million in assets.
It was a risk. But today, Sandbox manages over $650 million in assets, and Brian is doing exactly what he hoped to do: helping people plan for and enjoy financial freedom, while being an engaged father of three.
You’ve been in the industry for over two decades. What originally drew you to it?
I always had an interest in the stock market and investing. That probably started with my dad, as he educated us early on. I remember checking stock prices in the newspaper on weekends. This was pre-Internet. He set up a small account in my name, invested in a few stocks, like Disney and Bristol-Myers Squibb, and I’d track them just to see what they were doing. It wasn’t about the money yet. It was about the exposure and education.
Into high school and college, I got more into it. I opened an E*TRADE account in the late '90s, trading during the dot-com boom (and bust). Made money, lost money, but I learned a lot before I ever made it a career.
You were a college swimmer, right? Where’d you grow up?
I grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland just 10 minutes from where I live now in Bethesda. Sports were a big part of my life. I played many sports early on, but swimming became my focus as a teenager. I was serious about it: two-a-days before and after school, six days a week. Along the way, I trained with many Olympians and ultimately went to swim on scholarship at the University of Delaware. That experience shaped my drive for success, work ethic, and focus.
What made you leave the wholesaling role and shift to advising?
That was a big transition. I left in 2013 when my son was 18 months old. I was on the road 200 nights a year, staying in hotels and missing milestones. My father had made a similar shift when I was young in order to be more present, and I wanted to do the same. Family is everything to me, I wanted to be “dad.”
At the same time, I had spent the prior decade working with financial advisors—seeing the good, the bad, and the conflicted. I saw a lot of people doing things that weren’t necessarily in the client’s best interest. I wanted to change that. I wanted to be the advisor I didn’t always see out there.
That’s serious growth. What do you attribute it to?
First and foremost, doing what’s right for the client. We’re independent, a fiduciary, experienced, credentialed, and proactive. We genuinely care. We educate, we follow up, we get things done. That creates trust, and that trust leads to referrals.
Also, embracing hybrid and virtual work helped accelerate our growth. We now work with clients across the country and the globe. We have clients in over 20 states and across multiple continents. We’ve grown through referrals from accountants, attorneys, and existing clients. And we’ve built a team that can handle it. You can’t scale without the right people around you and we have a team that I would match up against anyone.
Some of our recent industry recognition and awards include:
USA Today’s Best Financial Advisory Firms (#59 of 500 finalists in 2025)
Newsweek Top Financial Advisory Firms (Top 750 Firm out of 15,000)
Forbes Best in State Financial Advisors 2025
Advisor Hub’s Top 1,000 Advisors to Watch (#173 in 2025)
Financial Advisor Magazine’s Top RIA Firms
Fives Star Wealth Manager Award 2025
ETF.com - Top 50 RIA Firms
Bethesda Magazine’s Face of Wealth Management
Brian says that the recognition and accolades are nice, both personally and for the Sandbox team, but it’s not why we go to work every day. It’s all about our clients, and helping them make their financial aspirations a reality.
What do you wish more people understood about financial planning?
That the foundation matters most. Everyone wants to talk about investments and growth, but if you don’t have cash reserves, if you’re living beyond your means, if you have credit card debt, you’re skipping the foundational steps.
Before you can do the fun stuff, you need to build that foundation. It’s like building a house. You can’t pick the kitchen backsplash if the basement’s cracked. A lot of what we do is helping people stand, before they try to run.
What’s one financial habit you think everyone should develop?
Save first, then spend. And build that discipline early.
And if you’re investing, understand the emotions that come with it.
People are too emotional with their money. They panic on downturns and chase returns when things are hot. As Peter Lynch said, everyone’s a long-term investor until the market goes down.
If you can remove emotion, have a plan, and stick to it, you’ll outperform most and your future-self will thank you.
How do you talk to your kids about money?
I have three kids—13, 11, and 8—and I’m very open with them. Each has a custodial account. They get birthday money, allowance and they often ask me to invest it. One wanted to buy Lululemon stock because she likes the clothes. Another shops at Target, so she bought Target stock. My son during COVID said, “Disney parks are closed, we should sell it and buy Tesla.” They’re learning how to think about ownership, investing, saving, and spending.
We also use the Greenlight debit card, which lets them manage personal spending, create a side savings or an investment account to see their balances. It’s all about forming sound financial habits early, just like my father did with me.
Outside of work, what’s a typical day like for you?
It’s nonstop. I’m a dad, that’s my main role when I’m not working. My kids are in travel sports, so I’m driving my kids to hockey, swimming, lacrosse, basketball, soccer, golf… their practices, games, matches and tournaments. It’s chaos, I have a lot of help, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Do you wish Sandbox specialized in a niche? Or do you prefer keeping the net wide?
We’ve discussed it, but the reality is that we receive numerous referrals from accountants, attorneys, and clients who trust us, so we don’t want to limit that.
That said, we do have internal specialties. Julie (read: Julie’s sandbox spotlight) focuses on divorce and women in transition. Will focuses on sustainable investing. I work with a lot of tech & software execs, women professionals, business owners, and doctors/dentists. But overall, we want to stay accessible.
Our tagline, Live More, Worry Less, reflects that. We’re here to help you live well, and we’ll carry much of the financial weight.
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