License: CA # OE97142
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“When someone asks me what I do for my clients, I tell them I take money out of the picture. “
Wesley Salao has been an independent financial advisor for 10+ years starting with FCB financial in 2005. He focuses on holistic financial planning concepts to help families build goal-based strategies. Wesley currently has his series 6 and 63 and Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) designation.
“I first found a passion for this career working with young parents. When I started in the industry, a lot of my friends at Cal were starting their own families and we knew college wasn’t cheap. They knew they had to start saving for college early but had no clue what to do.”
Wesley volunteered at preschools and Montessori schools in LA and Orange County educating parents on the various types of options (529s, UTMAs, Coverdell, etc.) available to them.
“Being an independent advisor, we always stress individualized recommendations. Although most people have similar goals, what’s right for one may not be right or as important for another. There’s a lot of ways to pay for college. One way isn’t any better than the rest...other than maybe a scholarship .”
For the last few years, Wesley has focused on working primarily with public school teachers from elementary all the way up to college. Much like his mom who retired with 25 years of service with the city of LA, teachers have a unique retirement plan called CalSTRS or CalPERS with little guidance on how these plans actually work.
“It’s actually a great pension and can generate much more than social security but a lot of teachers don’t understand their options and wait till it’s too late to do anything. At the end of the day, teachers want to focus on teaching our youth so my job is to help them take money and the stress that comes with it out of the picture. “