Jon Stojan 
From the outside looking in, a typical afternoon for financial advisor Ian Alvarez might not seem much different from any other white-collar worker’s day. You would find him in his West LA office with a view, natural light flooding in while he takes calls or meets with clients.
But, if you were a fly on the wall listening in, you’d learn that Alvarez’s day-to-day managing the finances of LA’s top-earning content creators is anything but traditional.
As the man on his clients’ speed dial to answer texts and calls about what to do with the influx of cash from their latest viral post or whether it’s okay to buy a Rolex while vacationing in Miami, Alvarez has made a name for himself in the creator space.
He says he was in the right place at the right time, having recognized the boom in a new class of young millionaires that the rest of the rather outdated financial services industry didn’t understand and had been ignoring.
“The financial services industry is designed around a 9 to 5 employee who will have decades to plan for a traditional retirement,” says Alvarez. “That’s a pretty useless model for a young content creator who is earning six figures a month right now but has no idea how long they’ll be making that much, or what to do with it to make it last. There’s a reason we often see athletes or entertainers go broke 10 years after hitting it big…it’s no different with content creators, and I’m here not only to make sure that doesn’t happen to my clients but also to help them maximize the opportunity they have.”
For that reason, Alvarez and his team specialize in helping creators turn quick riches into lasting wealth that they can live off long after their content days are gone. Their process involves integrating risk-adjusted investments with tax-mitigation strategies to help clients achieve what they call “work-optional lifestyles.”
For those interested in business outside of content creation, Alvarez and his team also help identify and evaluate alternative investment opportunities like real estate, business, and private investments.
Some of Alvarez’s clients have opted to build short-term rental businesses in particular. Mariah Casillas, who goes by Lavagrll on social media, has a growing Airbnb business with a property in Palm Springs to supplement her income as a model and creator.
Creator Jay Gould purchased a property in Joshua Tree to renovate into a unique Airbnb, the process of which was documented for a reality TV show that will serve as an additional source of income for him.
According to Alvarez, his team is passionate about working with creators because it’s different, exciting, and more than anything, extremely fulfilling to see young people from humble backgrounds, many of whom have been underestimated by society, succeed on such a grand scale.
“There’s nothing more fulfilling than helping young, ambitious clients turn their lightning-in-a-bottle opportunity into an empire,” Alvarez says.
For more information on Ian Alvarez’s financial advisory offerings, visit here.
