Sean Yu '99 Political Science; Management and Human Resources

Sean Yu manages his own wealth management group in Pasadena and has repeatedly been named a top financial advisor by industry publications. He says he owes much of his success to Cal Poly Pomona and has plans to commit $1.3 million in charitable contributions, endowments, and student internships and scholarships. Closest to his heart is a fund for students to travel abroad, to learn self-reliance and empathy.

His support has earned him a 2023 Distinguished Alumni award and, earlier this year, an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Yet Yu has not forgotten how he struggled to fund his education with part-time jobs and loans.

“When I graduated, I had $100,000 in student debt,” he says.

Originally, Yu planned to get a doctorate, with the goal of becoming a political science professor. Before completing his master’s degree from the University of Chicago, he attended a money management seminar for ideas on handling his student debt. That’s when he discovered Wall Street would be a good career fit. He worked long hours during his first several years in finance and gradually reached the top of his field.

He gives Cal Poly Pomona credit for his strong work ethic and something he calls grit.

“With grit, you plan, set goals, work hard and develop certain strengths,” Yu says.

He learned about several success strategies, such as setting short-term goals as well as one-, three- and five-year plans.

Among his fondest Cal Poly Pomona memories were office-hour talks with Political Science professors David Speak and Sid Sillman and History Professor Jon Lloyd. These men helped shaped Yu’s perspectives on politics, economics, social sciences, philosophy and the way he views the world.

Yu serves on the board of directors of the Cal Poly Pomona University Philanthropic Foundation, having formerly chaired the investment committee for three years and the audit committee for a year.

“Endowment investing is important,” he says. “If we can help the university have a more stable return, then we can help so many more students in the years ahead.”