To Our Clients and Future Clients
My family came to this country with nothing but hope. Hope turned into opportunity, opportunity turned into discipline, and discipline turned into a life I never dreamed was possible. That same spirit lives inside Axim.
A Letter From Our Founder, Luong Pham
I was born in Vietnam in 1967, but my story—and Axim’s story—begins long before I ever thought about financial planning.
In April of 1975, as Saigon was collapsing and families were scrambling for their lives, my own family made the decision to flee. My father was a lieutenant colonel in the South Vietnamese military. My grandfather was the owner of South Vietnam’s transit system, even he believed the conflict would never reach us. But when the final days arrived, we boarded a crowded oil tanker headed toward the Philippines—one of thousands of families desperate for a chance at freedom.
The sea was chaotic, ships collided, people panicked. I remember my father stepping forward, taking weapons from passengers to maintain peace on board. For two months, we lived on sardines and hope until the U.S. Navy helped shepherd families like mine to safety. I’ve never eaten a sardine again—but I’ve carried the lessons of that journey with me every day of my life.
Axim Planning & Wealth was born from a simple belief
Every family deserves a plan that gives them hope, security, and a sense of control over their future.
When we arrived in America, we first stayed with relatives in Nevada, then moved to Minnesota, and ultimately found our home in Ohio. My parents worked wherever opportunity appeared—General Motors, Frigidaire—until those doors closed. So, they opened their own restaurant and rebuilt their life once again.
Along the way, we were embraced by an American sponsor family whose kindness still humbles me to this day. They sent us candy canes with $5 bills wrapped around them every Christmas for nearly 30 years. That gesture taught me something I’ve never forgotten: When someone gives you a chance, your responsibility is to make the most of it—and then give back.
Growing up, my father had two rules: we had to graduate from college, and we had to earn a black belt in Taekwondo. I took that second rule and ran with it. Taekwondo became my discipline, my passion, and ultimately my path to representing the United States as an Olympian. Standing in Seoul in 1988—wearing this country’s flag, competing in a sport I love—was one of the greatest honors of my life.
Those experiences shaped who I am: disciplined, grateful, and determined to help others secure the opportunities my family fought so hard to reach.
I have lived what it means to start over. I have seen what opportunity can do, and I have witnessed how a single act of guidance or generosity can change the entire trajectory of a family.
After working inside traditional financial systems, I realized something important:
Too many firms were built around products, not people.
Around sales, not service.
Around advisors’ ambitions, not clients’ dreams.
I wanted to build something different—a firm grounded in discipline, clarity, and genuine care. A firm where clients come first, always. Where planning is personal. Where we treat your future with the same seriousness and respect that my family treated our chance at a new life.
That is Axim.
Whether you want a plan that lets you sleep at night or a strategy to help you pursue generational wealth, we are here to guide you—with honesty, gratitude, and unwavering dedication.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
We are just getting started.
Warmly,
Luong Pham
Founder, Axim Planning & Wealth
