Steward Well Advisory

How does your financial advisor actually get paid? 💰

Commission? Fee-for-service? A mix of both?

The way an advisor gets compensated can affect the type of relationship you have, the services you receive, and what happens after the advice is given.

Understanding how it works helps you ask better questions and make more informed financial decisions.

This is #1 in “Things Nobody Tells You About Financial Advisor.”

Follow for Part 2.

Investing isn’t only about choosing a fund or looking at past returns.

Your reaction to market volatility, tax strategy, estate planning, family circumstances—and even your own emotional biases—can influence the decisions you make.

Past performance can look convincing, but markets change. The goal is to understand the bigger picture so you can make informed, educated decisions with confidence.

That’s what Investing Explained has been about: understanding before investing.

Alberto Salguero
Financial advisor
519 830 0974

Would you care where your investment returns are coming from?

For some investors, returns are the priority. Others may also consider environmental impact, corporate governance, social responsibility or whether a fund invests in controversial industries.

These preferences can help narrow down which investments actually align with you.

📌 Part 9: The final factor many investors overlook—their own emotions.

Alberto Salguero
Financial advisor
519 830 0974

Knowing your risk profile is an important first step—but it doesn’t tell the whole story.

Two investors can have a similar tolerance for risk and still prioritize completely different things: capital protection, estate planning, professional management, liquidity or creditor protection.

The goal is to keep narrowing down your options until they fit more than just your risk level.

📌 Part 8: What else should influence your investment choices?

Alberto Salguero
Financial advisor
519 830 0974

If I asked you how much money you have saved, you could probably give me an answer.
But if I asked you how much you'll actually need to live comfortably 20 years from now... most people have no idea.
And that's the difference between saving money and having a financial plan.
Saving is important.
But if your money doesn't have a purpose, a goal, and a strategy, it's simply waiting to be spent one day.

"If you don't have a clear financial plan for your future, let's have a conversation. Sometimes one discussion is all it takes to completely change the way you look at your money."

Alberto Salguero
Financial advisor
519 830 0974

Not every investor should have the same investment mix.

Depending on your investor profile, your portfolio may lean more toward **income**, **equity**, or a combination of both.

That’s where you often hear about allocations like 60/40—and why a prudent investor may look very different from someone with an aggressive growth profile.

But knowing your risk level is only the beginning.

📌 Part 7: What else should you consider before choosing your investments?

Alberto Salguero
Financial advisor
519 830 0974

How much risk should you actually take when investing?

The answer isn’t the same for everyone.

Your age, income, net worth, investment knowledge, timeline and tolerance for risk can all help determine your **investor profile**.

And once you know your profile, you can start understanding what type of investment mix may actually fit you.

📌 Part 6: What type of investor are you?

Alberto Salguero
Financial advisor
519 830 0974

Stocks, GICs, private lending, real estate… the investment universe can get confusing very quickly.

But before deciding where to put your money, there’s a more important question to answer:

**How much risk can you actually take?**

That’s where your investor profile becomes important.

📌 Part 5: Understanding your investor profile.

Alberto Salguero
Financial advisor
519 830 0974