about us

Steven Neeley, MBA, CFP®

Financial Advisor

My sole focus is ensuring a happy and carefree retirement for my clients by getting them the income they need while crash-proofing their portfolios.

A Focus on Retirees

I switched my focus to retirees after guiding my own parents through the retirement process.

Generally capable people, when it came time to retire, they were overwhelmed. Suddenly, they had to figure things out like:

I’m sick of working, but can I afford to retire now?
I have a pension that has a lump sum option. What should I do? And if I take the pension, which option should I choose?
Most of my savings is in a retirement plan that will be taxed on withdrawal. How do I minimize taxes?
I need $X of income every month to live. Can I get that kind of income from my investments without taking on too much risk?

The relief they experienced after developing their retirement plan and guiding them through it is something I will never forget, and it is the reason that I do what I do.

Things You Should Know

I am a Certified Financial Planner™ and fiduciary, meaning that I will put your best interests first, and fully disclose and manage unavoidable conflicts fairly in your favor.
I am a Fee-Only financial advisor, which means that I do not accept commission, referral fees, or compensation of any kind based on selling financial products, without exception.
I have more than a decade of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to founding Fortress Capital Advisors, I served as the chief investment officer of a large independent wealth management firm where I oversaw hundreds of millions of dollars in client assets.
I have a network of experts in their respective legal, tax, and insurance fields that you can utilize.

Personal

My family and I are avid global travelers and foodies. If I could visit one place again and again, it would be Granada, Spain. I don’t think I could ever tire of sitting next to the river, sipping wine, eating tapas and staring up at the magnificent Alhambra.
Pickle ball is the best sport!
To learn more, see this interview I gave with Allan Slider of the Fee Only Network.

Favorite Book:

Non-fiction – Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. This true account of Ernest Shackleton and his crew’s survival in the Antarctic is simply incredible and will likely make whatever problems you are dealing with seem pretty small in comparison.

Fiction – Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.(I have to go with a Hoosier here!) Billy Pilgrim’s experience of becoming “unstuck” in time is such an apt description of how life is experienced when looking back.

Strangest Thing Ever Eaten:

This is tough because if you spend a lot of time in Asia, you tend to eat a lot of “dare” foods. I’ll say it’s a tie between a live baby octopus and barbecued chicken’s anus.

Favorite Quote:

“Whenever I’m about to do something, I think, ‘Would an idiot do that?’ And if they would, I do not do that thing.” Dwight Schrute – The Office