Striking out on your own can be terrifying, but financial advisor Evan Guido did just that when he opened a new firm in Lakewood Ranch. Aksala Wealth Advisors now operates to serve the “millionaire next door.”

Guido wants to serve the successful people looking toward a comfortable but prudent retirement. “We do well with the regular millionaire,” he says, namely the person who made a fortune, but not one so big that it couldn’t all evaporate if mismanaged.

A staple of Downtown Sarasota for years, he dealt with many who enjoyed a high level of service but did not need the billionaire’s treatment. When he decided to open his own firm, he bought a business condo in San Marco Plaza in a booming part of the Gulf Coast accessible to those still growing their wealth. 

With a name that Guido came up with by spelling Alaska backwards, Aksala’s website explains the company’s core strategy “centers around rising dividend portfolios, providing our clients a current income stream that can increase over time.”

“Our portfolios also offer you a prudent way to participate in the wealth-building process over the long term—so you can retire with confidence,” the site continues.

The company combines wealth management and retirement income planning. Clients will learn about tax- and cost-efficient financial planning principles, and about how to discern investment fads from responsible practices.

The goal at Aksala will be helping clients throw off the shackles of proprietary products and corporate politics.

“It’s just focusing on solutions,” Guido says. “That’s at the heart of it.”

He believes there’s still a strong interest in personalized services, despite a very real “Amazon-ification” of the asset management game.

The good thing about technology, Guido says, is that he can work with independent developers capable of creating the best trading tools from a garage. He wants to employ the modern resources available in the field. “You can deposit checks with pictures now,” he says.

For the moment, Guido boasts a staff of four and seeks to grow a client list to about 100 families. “I want to leave a legacy here,” Guido says.