OUR TEAM

Steve Nielsen

Steve’s tenacious and hard-working nature was instilled in him at a very young age. Being the youngest of three athletic brothers forced him to compete for everything in a results-oriented environment. While many children were hard at work playing Nintendo video games after walking home from the corner store with candy, Steve would be in their acreage backyard, shooting pucks or kicking soccer balls against a brick wall, with no candy store in sight. Growing up in the rural area of Springbank with mostly farmland around him, his wonderful parents also taught him the important values of honesty, perseverance and empathy, which he has worked to combine with his competitive nature to this day. 

Steve started his career with Milestone almost immediately after graduating from the University of Calgary in 2000 with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Finance. No time for rest. He continued his education further and maintains many professional designations including the Certified Financial Planner™ and Chartered Investment Manager™. In addition to being a registered Investment Advisor, he is also a licensed Portfolio Manager with options and derivatives, through which Steve leads our investment management process. Steve is the lead writer and editor of our Milestone Elements Newswire™ blog, and has been featured in the Wealth Professional Magazine on more than one occasion including being named a ‘Portfolio Manager Powerhouse’ in 2017. He was also nominated for the 2018 IIAC Top Under 40 Award.

The ‘Why’ behind Steve’s career path is rooted in the values he grew up with and the passion he has for all things finance. Although his focus with Milestone is leading our investment team, ultimately his fulfillment comes from helping many families reach their financial goals and navigating them through their critical life events through generational financial planning. Like solving a complex math equation, he strives to put all the pieces of the financial puzzle together for his clients, ultimately bringing them peace of mind. As a fiduciary of his client’s hard earned money, Steve’s satisfaction comes from effecting positive change for his clients well beyond just the numbers, empowering and guiding them towards a work-optional lifestyle so that they can focus on their ‘Why’.

Born and raised in the Calgary area, Steve commits personal time to his community through sport, coaching both soccer and hockey and currently serving on the Board of Directors for the SW Chinooks Soccer Association. It is his goal to help foster the values of perseverance, dedication and teamwork to help these children later in life. Steve is most proud of his wife and two beautiful children, who drive him to be better every day. They love the outdoors and all the recreation our diverse weather brings us, spending time with friends and family, and just enjoying life.

Korina Fandrick

Korina’s calm demeanor can be misleading, as she can hold her own with the ‘get’er done’ attitude she inherited along with her small town Alberta roots. This certainly stems in part from being raised by a single mother who emphasized the importance of independence, integrity and perseverance from a young age. That said, the paper route started at age 7, she bought her first vehicle well in advance of receiving her Driver’s License, and finished high school early to work full-time prior to post-secondary.

Korina began her foray into the investment industry in 2000, and has made Milestone her permanent home for the past 13 years. She holds both her Certified Financial Planner™ designation and insurance licenses, with a specialization in financial planning. She will also be pursuing the Certified Divorce Financial Analyst designation to keep her on her toes.

The rationale for specializing in financial planning speaks to the reason why she chose this field in the first place; she thrives on building and nurturing relationships. She takes great pride in the fact that she gets to assist clients in all areas of their financial world, acting as their personal CFO, allowing them to live life in keeping with their own family, professional and recreational goals. She certainly practices what she preaches in this regard, as these goals are very top of mind for her, and have led to her tenacious pursuit of keeping herself healthy and balanced inside and out.
Born in Calgary and moving shortly thereafter to Northern Alberta, Korina was raised in a small farming community with one older brother. Having returned to Calgary at age 12, she’s now spent the majority of her life in Calgary and the surrounding area, although her country roots remain and have definitely grounded her. With this blended exposure she’s built an appreciation for the finer things in life, especially from a culinary perspective, as well as an appetite for adventure in both travel and sport. Mentoring is another passion, having been a Big Sister for several years before moving onto a more informal role with University students.

Shawn Boos

Shawn always had a keen interest in money growing up.  His five siblings even nicknamed him ‘Money Man’ when he was just a kid.  In grade eight, an investment professional came to his class to speak about investing and economics and he knew he had found his calling.

Shawn joined Milestone in February 1998 and has been instrumental in establishing and building our client relationships.  He received his Certified Financial Planner™ certification in 2002 and his Chartered Investment Manager™ designation in 2005. In 2007, he became a Portfolio Manager including options and derivatives along with Steve Nielsen.  Shawn has worked closely with the Milestone team to create systems and processes to ensure all of the pieces of a client’s financial world are well looked after. 

The driving force behind Shawn’s love for his career is truly getting to know people – their family, aspirations and goals, their bucket-list and retirement dreams.  Being able to bring a panoramic approach to helping people and businesses achieve their goals is extremely rewarding for Shawn.

Shawn is a born-and-raised Albertan, who made his home in Calgary in 1998 when he moved from Red Deer to join the Milestone team.  He was raised by two loving parents who both emigrated from Holland.  He grew up with five siblings and today is blessed with a beautiful wife and two teenage girls.  He enjoys cycling, working out, skiing, reading, studying Spanish and travelling - dreams of one day being a contestant on the Amazing Race Canada.

Steve Booker

If you have an image in your mind of a young boy pulling a red Radio Flyer wagon full of newspapers to deliver, well, that was Steve Booker at age 11.  In Calgary’s often harsh winters, the wagon would get swapped for a toboggan, but Steve persevered with his paper route, steadily growing his loyal client base and income.  This entrepreneurial drive continued through summer jobs in high school and led him to become president of the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs (ACE) student club at the University of Calgary.  While with ACE, Steve launched two businesses and led the Calgary ACE chapter to win two national awards before he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Steve joined Milestone Asset Management 1998 and is currently an Investment Advisor and Branch Manager.  Through the years he has earned and maintained such designations as Certified Financial Planner™, Chartered Investment Manager™ and Chartered Life Underwriter™. Steve has written for Avenue Magazine, WestJet’s UP Magazine, Calgary Inc., has been featured in the Calgary Herald, Advisor.ca, and Wealth Professional Magazine and for several years was the voice of CBC Calgary Radio’s morning stock market reports.

Steve has given back to the industry over the years by participating in cross-Canada investment advisory groups.  More locally, he has participated on the board of the Alberta Insurance Council and has initiated an annual film festival fundraiser that raises money for a local school.  This fundraiser was recognized as a finalist in National Bank Financial’s Outstanding Philanthropy & Community Service award in 2018.  Steve has long recognized that entrepreneurial drive cannot exist in isolation; it takes a community to thrive.  He believes that it’s important to support and encourage our local small & medium-sized business community on the road to financial success. 
Steve also maintains a strong global focus personally through his extensive international travels with his wife and three children.  Whether it’s hiking volcanos in South America, caving in Europe, or back-country skiing in his backyard of the Canadian Rockies there is always a new perspective to be had from stepping just outside your comfort zone.  Steve brings this perspective back to his clients, fostering a diverse and multidisciplinary approach towards shaping their financial goals into reality.