Headshot of John Lesser

John Lesser

Group Managing Partner CFA®, CFP®, CPA, President of Plante Moran Financial Advisors Auburn Hills Wealth Management

I am playing my way through the top 100 golf courses in the world. The most incredible course I’ve been on is Royal County Down in Northern Ireland. The landscape is more beautiful than you can imagine.
John Lesser
Group Managing Partner, CFA®, CFP®, CPA, President of Plante Moran Financial Advisors

Experience

As the president of Plante Moran Financial Advisors and a member of Plante Moran's management team, I serve ultra-high-net-worth clients as their “personal CFO,” providing them with customized wealth strategies designed to maximize their after-tax net worth. I help my clients throughout many points in their life, whether it’s advice during their active professional lives, guidance on the post-sale of a business, or planning for future generations.

My clients appreciate my ability to provide and apply meaningful comprehensive services to complex wealth dynamics and structure a deliberate, objective and independent approach to building, preserving, and managing wealth. As someone who sits at the same side of the table with them, I’ve become a go-to trusted advisor for some of America’s top executives, families, family offices, and institutions.

With decades of experience, one of my greatest accomplishments as a leader within the firm has been growing the Wealth Management practice in terms of the breadth and scope of our offerings, capabilities, and enhanced service models for the digital age.

I’ve spoken at the annual Barron’s conference for the Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors in the United States for many years on various matters related to running an investment practice and designing an investment strategy. I was named to the Barron’s Advisor Hall of Fame in 2019 for having appeared in 10 or more Barron’s annual Top 100 Advisor rankings. In 2023, I was named to the Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors list for Michigan where I ranked No. 6 on the list for Michigan High Net Worth. In 2022, I was named one of Crain’s Detroit “Notable Money Managers.” 

My professional and community involvement includes serving as co-chair of the Finance and Accounting Board and as a member of the Student Investment Fund Advisory Board at Oakland University, the AICPA, the MICPA, and the Financial Analysts Society of Detroit (FASD). I earned a B.S. in accounting and finance from Oakland University and an M.B.A. from Wayne State University.

Awards or inclusion on ranking lists are not indicative of PMFA’s future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Selection criteria will be provided upon request.