Fee-Based Financial Planning & Wealth Management for Chicago-Area Families

Steward Advisors is a Registered Investment Advisor, bound by law to a fiduciary standard. This requires us to always act in your best interests, with honesty, integrity, competence and diligence.

• Duty of Care: We must provide prudent, well-informed, competent investment advice tailored to your goals and risk tolerance.
• Duty of Loyalty: We must act with undivided loyalty, completely avoid or eliminate certain conflicts, and fully disclose any remaining conflicts of interest.
• Privacy: We always maintain confidentiality and protect the privacy of client information.

Traditional brokers and many others that operate as "Financial Advisors" are not Registered Investment Advisors and are not bound by the fiduciary standard. Many focus on selling proprietary products or other investments that generate significant commissions or other income. Steward Advisors takes a different approach:

• Independent advice: We do not sell proprietary products or take a commission on any investment we recommend.
• Transparent Fees: We operate on a fee-only basis, and none of our advisors has sales quotas or receives compensation based on specific products they recommend.
• Planning focused: As fiduciary advisors, we offer planning services to all our clients, and we use the financial plan to drive all our client recommendations. Brokers or other planners may offer rudimentary services, but they cannot do comprehensive, ongoing financial planning with advice that meets a fiduciary standard.

Our investment process is disciplined, evidence-based, and grounded in academic research rather than market timing or stock picking. We construct globally diversified portfolios designed to capture long-term market returns while managing risk through asset allocation and diversification.

• Academic foundation: Focused on asset allocation, low costs, and diversification.
• Risk control: Matched to your personal risk tolerance and long-term financial goals.

An Investment Policy Statement (IPS) is a formal, personalized document that establishes the strategy and guidelines for managing your wealth. It serves as the operational roadmap that guides all trading, rebalancing, and asset allocation decisions for your portfolio.

• Clear guidelines: Outlines what types of assets might be included in your portfolio and how much of each can be purchased.
• Emotional guardrail: Outlining your target allocation for each asset, as well as how much we can vary from the target, prevents making reactive decisions during volatile market cycles.

We manage tax efficiency year-round to minimize lifetime tax liabilities. Our team uses systematic tax-loss harvesting during regular portfolio reviews, locates assets strategically across taxable and retirement accounts, and coordinates distributions to optimize your overall tax position.

• Asset location: Places high-tax assets in sheltered accounts and tax-efficient investments in taxable accounts.
• Proactive harvesting: Realizes opportunistic losses to offset capital gains throughout the year.

A comprehensive financial plan integrates every area of your financial life: lifestyle spending analysis, Monte Carlo retirement projections, risk management, Social Security distribution strategies, and estate planning reviews.

• Aligns your assets, projected cash flow, future goals, and legacy planning in a single roadmap.
• Scenario modeling: Stress-tests your plan across hundreds of potential future market conditions.

We serve as your guide through the financial and emotional transition into retirement. We analyze retirement income sequencing, optimize Social Security, budget for healthcare costs, and build a 12-Month Retirement Roadmap so you do not outlive your savings.

• Income sequencing: Structures tax-efficient withdrawals across IRAs, 401(k)s, and taxable accounts.
• Ongoing peace of mind: Continuous monitoring to adjust for market shifts or lifestyle changes.

Steward Advisors provides comprehensive financial planning at no additional charge for clients with an initial investment of $600,000 or more. Our advisory fee is a transparent, predictable percentage of assets under management (AUM).

• Account threshold: Full planning included with at least $600K in managed assets. Planning available for an additional fee in other cases.
• Aligned incentives: Transparent AUM fees ensure our success is directly tied to yours.

Client assets are held with an independent, third-party custodian—Charles Schwab & Co.—not by Steward Advisors directly. You retain full ownership and direct 24/7 access to your accounts, while we manage the portfolio on your behalf through limited discretionary trading authority.

• Third-party security: Assets protected by institutional custody safeguards and SIPC insurance.
• Full visibility: Independent verification of all balances and transactions through Schwab Alliance.

Getting started begins with an introductory discovery conversation to evaluate your goals and determine mutual fit. Steward Advisors serves clients nationally and locally from two Illinois office locations:

• Schaumburg Office: 1320 Tower Road, Schaumburg, IL 60173
• Chicago Office: 625 West Adams Street, Chicago, IL 60661
• Virtual access: Consultations available nationwide via secure video conference.