My Mission Passion
My mission is to consciously analyze, strategize, find solutions, and support people in avoiding the worry and emotional suffering that is commonly attached to the psychology of money.
My passion is to do great work for great people; helping them create a life by design, not by default, and replacing financial worry with confidence and purpose.
Financial Advisor in San Diego
Helping Individuals & Families Build Wealth Through Retirement Planning & Wealth Management
As a Certified Money Coach through the Money Coach Institute and a financial advisor in San Diego for more than 28 years, I understand that money is often the number one source of stress in a person’s life. Financial uncertainty can affect relationships, careers, businesses, retirement, and overall well-being. My mission is to help individuals, families, and business owners replace financial anxiety with clarity, confidence, and a personalized plan for the future.
At Elisabeth Dawson, we believe financial planning should never be overwhelming. Our team simplifies complex financial decisions by providing customized strategies for retirement planning, wealth management, investment guidance, tax-efficient planning, estate planning, and long-term financial planning. Every recommendation is designed around your unique goals, helping you make informed decisions with confidence at every stage of life.
Building wealth isn’t simply about earning more money. It’s about understanding how to protect what you’ve earned, reduce unnecessary taxes, create reliable retirement income, and leave a meaningful legacy for the people you love. Through education, coaching, and comprehensive financial planning, we empower our clients to take control of their financial future and create a life by design instead of by default.
At COPIA Wealth Management & Insurance Services and COPIA Wealth Management Advisors, Inc., we proudly serve individuals, families, retirees, and business owners throughout San Diego County, including La Jolla, Del Mar, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, Poway, Coronado, Mission Valley, and surrounding communities. Whether you’re looking for a trusted financial advisor in San Diego, a comprehensive retirement plan, or personalized wealth management strategies, our experienced team is committed to helping you achieve your financial goals with confidence.
For more than 28 years, we’ve helped thousands of clients make smarter financial decisions through education, personalized guidance, and long-term relationships built on trust. We are honored to be recognized as one of San Diego’s leading financial planning teams and remain committed to helping every client build, protect, and enjoy their wealth with confidence.
About
Elisabeth has been helping individuals, families, and business owners as a financial advisor in San Diego for more than 28 years. She is a money coach, author, educator, financial coach, wife, mother, grandmother, and best friend to many. She is the founder of COPIA Wealth Management & Insurance Services and COPIA Wealth Management Advisors, Inc. She has helped thousands of clients throughout San Diego County build wealth, prepare for retirement, and create personalized financial plans designed around their unique goals.
Elisabeth has been named Financial Advisor of the Year twice in the Finance Monthly Global Awards and recognized three times as the “Face of Finance and Wealth Management” by San Diego Magazine. She has also been featured on the cover of Discover magazine, and in U.S. News and World Report, and San Diego magazine.
Elisabeth has helped thousands of individuals and families rethink retirement, build long-term wealth, and make smarter financial decisions through her books, Wealth by Design and Retirement by Design — practical guides focused on clarity, strategy, and long-term confidence.
Elisabeth's Story:
Finance Is In my Blood
Helping people with money is in my blood. My story begins with the longest most stressful month of my life in 1998, when my second child, Trevor, was born with severe complications and confined to the NICU. My whole life was about to change.
Suddenly I was facing the need for a new career to have the time flexibility I needed to care for my son. I thought I’d be in retail my entire life, but I needed to transition away from the very demanding and successful career I had as a fashion buyer for Nordstrom.
So in 1998, I ventured out looking
for what felt like a whole new life.
I had no idea what I wanted to do next.
A friend watched my son so I could interview with the GM of a local branch of Metlife.
I almost didn’t take the interview because, growing up, two things were off-limits:
Any talk about death or dying. And my mother’s purse!
My mother was from the “old country,” an immigrant from Vienna who lived through WWII. For her, conversations about death and money were secretive and fearful.
If you spoke about money, you’d be accused of wanting something when she died. And under NO circumstance… would you ever go into Mother’s purse! Never. You might get your hand cut off.
Financial planning was in direct conflict with the two things that were taboo in my family!
A job where you talk about money and death?
Not in my family!
But I took the interview,
and I loved it.
I felt I was born to help people with life’s most difficult subject: money!
I decided to go back to school at night to become licensed. I was 28 years old.
When I told my parents, they were my toughest critics.
But then, something wonderful happened.
At the same time, my father desired to retire early from the government at 55.
As a test of the value of a financial planner, I made an appointment for my parents with my newfound mentor in the industry.
So taboo were the subjects of money and death that my parents disallowed me from attending with them. So I waited nervously outside the closed office.
“Dear God,” I prayed, “If I am meant to be a financial advisor, please show me a sign. Show me even my parents can approve of it.”
When my parents emerged,
they were visibly happy.
My mom was ecstatic, and my Dad was thrilled that he could retire. Mom had always been my toughest critic, and her endorsement was the sign from God I needed to move into the best industry in the world, financial services, with my full commitment.
Since then, I’ve been blessed to have great mentors who helped me fast-track my career in many ways. But more deeply, I knew I was a woman in a profession full of men, and to succeed, I’d have to be the best. So I’ve always worked extra hard, and because of my children, failure was never an option. Through hard work and dedication, I became one of the top financial planners in San Diego, CA.
Author, Entrepreneur & Financial Coach
Today I am grateful to be in the Top 1%
of successful advisors in our country.
I couldn’t have accomplished this without our team – they are incredible.
I found my my mission, my passion, and my purpose when I found my place in the financial services industry. I’m in my dream job.
There is one moment I’ll never forget. It took place just 7 months before my mother passed away. At a client appreciation dinner, my mother surprised me with an unexpected toast.
“Elisabeth, your grandfather would be very proud of you.”
My grandfather was a minister. I didn’t know why she was bringing him up.
“I would hope my grandfather would be proud of me, but why?” I asked.
“Your grandfather was the Minister of Finance for Vienna, Austria before WWII.”
I was stunned! Growing up,
I thought he was a church minister.
That unexpected toast privately confirmed something,
I’ve felt since my first interview at MetLife.
I was born to be a financial advisor -
it’s in my blood!
P.S. My son Trevor is doing amazing today!
He is thriving. We raised him to be incredibly adaptive to his health, and he lives his life like he never had any health concerns. Trevor is an amazing young man.
He graduated from college in 3 short years and started his career in real estate as a loan officer. His sister Nicolette is equally amazing.
She’s definitely the smartest one in the family!
Mama is very proud of them both.