How a Ranch Kid Built a Practice Without Boundaries
When Stephen Maser set out to build Aura Wealth Management, he drew on more than two decades of experience in financial services. The firm he founded reflects a straightforward conviction: wealth management is most valuable when it is tailored to the actual lives that clients live.
Maser’s path to finance was not traditional — his personal history is shaped by Alberta cattle ranches and oil fields. Raised on a cattle ranch in southern Alberta, he studied agricultural production at Olds College before spending a decade as a service engineer in the Alberta oil industry. “Growing up in Alberta agriculture and spending a decade in the oil industry means living and breathing real-world economic cycles,” Maser explains. That grounding shaped the way he reads a financial situation — not as a portfolio of isolated assets, but as a complex, interconnected system. “Clients in these sectors know they don’t have to translate their business realities or worry about being misunderstood by a corporate suit,” he adds.
To back this practical experience with the right credentials, Maser completed his Canadian securities licensing in 2004, and by 2015, earned his U.S. cross-border credentials by passing both the Series 7 and Series 66 exams.
He also holds the Life Licence Qualification Program (LLQP) designation, enabling him to integrate life insurance, annuities, and segregated funds into estate planning.
While the majority of Stephen’s business is focused right here at home on Canadian wealth strategies, his dual-country licensing is a valuable asset that very few advisors hold.
For Canadians with U.S. ties — whether through employment, cross-border property, dual citizenship, or inherited retirement plans — the regulatory and tax landscape can be incredibly complicated.
“Cross-border licensing is rare, mostly because the regulatory hurdles are a massive headache,” Maser notes. A common blind spot is the PFIC rule: if a U.S. taxpayer holds the wrong type of Canadian investment account, the IRS can impose significant tax penalties. “Where things go sideways fastest is when people treat cross-border investing like a standard financial plan,” he says. His approach is measured. “We move slowly, deliberately, and methodically to ensure every single box is checked and their wealth is fully protected on both sides of the border.”
Outside the office, Maser believes that professional life and community life are closely connected. His early involvement with Rotary laid the foundation for years of community engagement, with charitable commitments spanning cardiac health, cancer research, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and palliative care. Alongside his wife Laura — a former chiropractor, optician, and retired local business owner — he helped raise over $270,000 for the Central Okanagan Hospice Association through their “Swinging with the Stars” fundraiser, later serving on its Foundation Board from 2021 to 2023. His dedication to local culture includes roles with Opera Kelowna and the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra. This mix of financial background and community focus led to his role as a keynote speaker at the Canadian Securities Exchange’s 2025 Summit on Responsible Investment. When clients begin thinking about philanthropy, Maser encourages them to move beyond the tax return. “It doesn’t always have to be a sterile, corporate line-item,” he says. “It can be active, engaging, and deeply personal.”
For him, that shift reframes the entire conversation. “Structuring philanthropy into your financial architecture moves it from ‘How much do I have?’ to ‘What kind of impact can I create?’”
When he is off the clock, Maser is an avid collector of first-edition hardcover books, with a library spanning science fiction, history, and graphic novels. A shared passion for food and wine drew him and Laura to the Okanagan Valley in 2011 — though Alberta, he is quick to note, has never really let go. “I love Alberta; I grew up there, and five generations of my family have called it home,” he shares. He returns frequently to meet clients face to face, while the family’s two Biewer Terriers, Leela and Chip, wait for him at home in the valley.
After 20 years, his view of the work has only sharpened. “Great financial advisors are not sales-driven,” he says. “The real value of this work is helping people protect what they’ve built so they can focus on living their lives without the constant background noise of financial anxiety.”