ValMark Financial Group
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1963
- HeadquartersAkron, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What ValMark Financial Group does
ValMark Financial Group is a privately held, family-owned financial services platform founded in 1963 and headquartered in Akron, Ohio, with a second operational office in St. Paul, Minnesota. The company operates at the intersection of three regulated financial services entities under a single unified platform: Valmark Securities, Inc. (a FINRA/SIPC member broker-dealer), Valmark Advisers, Inc. (an SEC-registered investment adviser), and Executive Insurance Agency, Inc. (an independent life insurance producer group with access to 25+ carriers). This three-circle architecture is offered exclusively to a community of 100+ independent member firms — wealth advisory practices, insurance specialty agencies, and CPA-affiliated wealth management firms — rather than directly to retail consumers. The member firm base holds licensure in all 50 U.S. states and operates physical offices in 30+ states, with annual member turnover of approximately 1%.
The company's core technology stack is proprietary and substantial. The Optimized Portfolio System (TOPS) is one of the industry's first all-ETF portfolio platforms, manages $5 billion in AUM, and is embedded in 23 life insurance carriers' variable annuity, variable life, and COLI products. Life Assurance 360 (LA360) provides an end-to-end life insurance planning model; Private Underwriting Risk Evaluation (PURE) protects high-net-worth client insurability during underwriting; the Life Insurance Fulfillment Tool (LIFT) handles electronic application submission; MyCase streamlines back-office operations; and the InForce Insurance Hub (launched October 2024) — augmented by the AI-enabled Opportunity Engine (launched September 2025) — manages in-force life insurance business. Policy Management Company oversees $50M+ of annualized premium across 165+ products from 25+ carriers. The platform integrates with a deep fintech stack including Pershing and Schwab (custody), Morningstar, eMoney, Redtail, DocuSign, Albridge, Smarsh, AdvicePay, Tamarac, LaserApp, and Box.
ValMark's revenue model is multi-stream and primarily recurring or repeat-transaction in nature: broker-dealer commissions on securities and insurance products, advisory fees on $10 billion of AUM/AUA at Valmark Advisers (milestone reached August 2024), insurance agency commissions via Executive Insurance Agency, fee-based policy management services through the Policy Management Company, and life settlement brokerage. Member firms operate under tiered commission payout grids (20–95%) with separate annual affiliation/membership fees. Under the leadership of Chairman and CEO Lawrence J. Rybka, the company has grown revenue approximately 20X since 1999, while average member firm revenue has grown 5X over the past two decades. The firm remains privately held across three generations of Rybka family ownership, with no disclosed PE or institutional capital.
ValMark Financial Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ValMark Financial Group
- Legal name
- Valmark Financial Group LLC
- Website
- https://valmarkfg.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1963
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ValMark Financial Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Broker-Dealer and Wealth Management Services
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Insurance-Integrated Wealth Managers (RIA + Insurance Solutions) (FSAAACAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Broker-Dealer Affiliated Wealth Advisory (FSAEABAB), Financial Planning–Led RIAs (FSAAACAB)
Keywords
Where ValMark Financial Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Akron
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
ValMark Financial Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Broker-Dealer Commission Revenue: Commissions earned on securities transactions including mutual funds, stocks, bonds, CDs, variable annuities, and variable life insurance products sold through Valmark Securities, a FINRA/SIPC member broker-dealer.
- Investment Advisory Fees: Fee-based financial planning and portfolio management through Valmark Advisers, Inc., an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Includes fee-based advisory services, fee-based solutions, and fee-based financial planning. Revenue grows as AUM/advisement increases.
- Insurance Agency Commissions: Commission revenue from fixed and variable life insurance, disability, long-term care, and annuity products sold through Executive Insurance Agency, a full-service insurance agency and producer group with access to 25+ carriers.
- Policy Management Services (PMC): Fee-based policy monitoring and management services for in-force life insurance policies, charged on a fee basis only when used. Allows advisors to retain full compensation on large cases.
- Life Settlement Brokerage: Life settlement brokerage services facilitated in-house, with full E&O coverage. Valmark acts as broker facilitating the sale of life insurance policies to institutional buyers through a transparent bidding process.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
ValMark Financial Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ValMark Financial Group operates an integrated platform that combines a full-service broker-dealer (Valmark Securities, FINRA/SIPC member), an SEC-registered investment advisor (Valmark Advisers), and an insurance producer group (Executive Insurance Agency) to serve more than 100 independent Member Firms across the U.S. The company offers proprietary tools including TOPS ETF portfolio management, Life Assurance 360 (LA360), the AI-enabled Opportunity Engine, the Policy Management Company, and life settlement brokerage services, supported by access to 25+ insurance carriers and $10 billion in assets under management and advisement.
Product overview
ValMark Financial Group is a platform company comprising four entities (Valmark Securities, Valmark Advisers, Executive Insurance Agency, and Valmark Policy Management Company) that operates at the intersection of a full-service broker-dealer, registered investment advisor, and insurance producer group. The core offerings include TOPS® ETF portfolio management and the InForce Insurance Hub for in-force policy management. These are augmented by a suite of proprietary tools and processes including Life Assurance 360® for life insurance planning, PURE for underwriting evaluation, Opportunity Engine™ (AI-enabled), LIFT™ for electronic processing, Concierge Services, Policy Management Company, Life Settlement Advocacy Program™, and various wealth planning tools (RISK™, ARC™, CARES™, Focused Planning™). The platform supports independent financial advisors with technology integrations including ValmarkMyCase (proprietary), Morningstar, eMoney, Albridge, Redtail CRM, DocuSign, and other fintech tools.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- TOPS (The Optimized Portfolio System): One of the industry's first all-Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) investment platforms. Twenty-three life insurance companies feature institutional versions of TOPS in their variable annuities, variable life, and COLI products. With $5 billion of assets under management, TOPS is one of the largest ETF managers in the world.
- Valmark Wealth Solutions (VWS)
- Life Assurance 360 (LA360)
- The Policy Management Company
- Life Settlement Advocacy Program
- Private Underwriting Risk Evaluation (PURE)
- InForce Insurance Hub
- Opportunity Engine
Products and services
- Valmark Securities, Inc.
- Valmark Advisers, Inc.
- Executive Insurance Agency, Inc.
- The Policy Management Company
- Life Settlement Advocacy Program
- Valmark Wealth Solutions (VWS)
- Retirement Turnkey
- Right Fit Staffing Solutions
- Creative Marketing Hub
- Valmark Concierge Services
- TOPS (The Optimized Portfolio System)
- InForce Insurance Hub
- Opportunity Engine
Quantifiable outcome
- Member firms see 20-35% revenue growth during their first full year after joining Valmark.
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use ValMark Financial Group
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ValMark Financial Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
AI capability5 records
Feature9 records
ValMark Financial Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
21 partnerships are on record, tiered notable, core and minor.
- BoxnotableValmark won Box's SMB AI Disruptor Award at BoxWorks 2025, recognizing Valmark's use of Box's enterprise content management platform in conjunction with its proprietary Opportunity Engine AI technology for enhancing advisor-client workflows.
- Lincoln Financial GroupcoreExpanded partnership to offer three additional TOPS ETF Portfolios (Conservative, Growth, and Aggressive Growth) managed by Valmark Advisers within Lincoln's Variable Universal Life (VUL) products — Lincoln AssetEdge VUL (2025), (2022), and SVUL policies. Effective May 12, 2025.
- WisdomTreenotableLaunched the WisdomTree Target Range Fund (NYSE: GTR), an actively managed ETF based on the methodology of the TOPS Global Equity Target Range Index, licensed by WisdomTree. Valmark Advisers provides the underlying index methodology.
- John HancockcoreValmark launched its TOPS ETF Portfolios as investment options within John Hancock's variable life insurance solutions. This solidified TOPS as the leading independent provider of ETF Portfolios within the life insurance and annuity market.
- Kingdom AdvisorsnotableFormal partnership with Kingdom Advisors focused on faith-based financial advice, allowing financial professionals to combine technical skills with ethics and faith to serve clients' best interest. Builds on Valmark's 60-year history of working with highly ethical advisors.
- WisdomTreenotableValmark Advisers launched the WisdomTree Target Range Fund (GTR) ETF, with Valmark's TOPS Global Equity Target Range Index methodology licensed to WisdomTree for this actively managed ETF.
- MassMutualnotableAdded MassMutual to Valmark's lineup of preferred insurance partners, giving member firms access to additional options for meeting clients' unique needs from a strong company committed to policyholders.
- Sequoia Financial GroupnotableInnovative joint venture to create a seamless, end-to-end experience for advisors and their clients when searching for, obtaining, and preserving a life insurance policy. Valmark and Sequoia combined their respective strengths in life insurance distribution and financial planning.
- University of AkroncoreLong-term strategic alliance including establishment of the CFP curriculum (met CFP Board standards since 1999), a $500,000 campaign to create a CFP Program Director position, a premier internship program (Top 100 in U.S.), and a talent pipeline where ~70% of Valmark's full-time hires are University of Akron alumni. Many alumni also serve as course instructors and competition coaches.
- Charles SchwabcoreSchwab serves as one of two primary custodial platforms (along with Pershing) for Valmark's advisory accounts. Valmark publishes dedicated Schwab Advisory Account Fees and works with Schwab for custody and trade execution.
- Pershing (BNY Mellon)corePershing serves as one of two primary custodial platforms for Valmark's advisory accounts. Valmark publishes dedicated Pershing Advisory Account Fees and Pershing Brokerage Account Fees. Pershing also serves as the retail trading desk for government securities, municipal bonds, and other fixed income securities.
- MorningstarnotableMorningstar is listed as a FinTech partner providing detailed investment research, risk tolerance assessment, and financial planning tools to enhance client service for member firms.
- eMoneynotableeMoney is a FinTech partner providing comprehensive financial planning through a single portal with aggregated account data for each client, enabling complex planning scenarios.
- DocuSignnotableDocuSign is a FinTech partner providing eSignature software for quickly and easily gathering client signatures on financial documents.
- SmarshnotableSmarsh is a FinTech partner providing compliance-friendly archiving solutions for email and social media engagement, helping member firms manage regulatory compliance.
- AdvicePaynotableAdvicePay is a FinTech partner streamlining the process for collecting consulting and financial planning fees through electronic fee-for-service billing solutions.
- AlbridgenotableAlbridge is a FinTech partner providing data aggregation software for member firms' entire book of business along with client-approved performance reporting capabilities.
- RedtailnotableRedtail is a FinTech partner providing a financial services-focused Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system allowing seamless client data storage and workflow management.
- TamaracnotableTamarac is a FinTech partner enabling quarterly billing audits and ad-hoc performance reports on Valmark Wealth Solutions accounts.
- LaserAppnotableLaserApp is a FinTech partner providing forms generation software that quickly populates forms with client data to save time processing paperwork.
- Business WireminorBusiness Wire is used as the primary newswire service for distributing Valmark's press releases and company announcements.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ValMark Financial Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- LPL Financial: LPL Financial is the largest independent broker-dealer/RIA in the U.S., serving tens of thousands of advisors and financial institutions with a similar integrated BD/RIA platform plus corporate RIA services. Comparable to Valmark's model as it shares the same advisor-services backbone, but operates at vastly larger scale (~$1.4T AUM).
- Northwestern Mutual: Northwestern Mutual is a major incumbent insurance/wealth manager combining proprietary insurance with investment advisory services through captive advisors. Comparable insurance+investment integration to Valmark, but using a captive (employee) advisor model versus Valmark's independent Member Firm network.
- Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management: Securian Financial (parent of Minnesota Life) is a Valmark board member and insurance carrier partner. As a mid-to-large diversified insurer with wealth management, retirement planning, and securities operations, it is comparable to the broader integrated services competition Valmark faces.
- Cetera Financial Group: Cetera is a large independent advisor-focused wealth management firm with multiple BD/RIA subsidiaries and insurance capabilities serving thousands of advisors. Comparable to Valmark in the integrated BD/RIA/insurance positioning for independent advisors, but at substantially greater scale.
- Securities America (Advisor Group): Securities America is a large independent broker-dealer (now part of Advisor Group / Osaic) serving thousands of independent advisors with BD, advisory, and insurance support. Comparable offering to Valmark for independent advisors, though serving a much broader footprint.
Regional players
- Kingswood Wealth Advisors: Kingswood is a smaller privately-held independent broker-dealer/RIA offering integrated wealth services to independent advisors across the U.S. Positioned similarly to Valmark as a culture-driven, smaller-scale privately-held BD/RIA, making it a useful structural comparator even if its geographic reach is more concentrated.
Direct peers
- Kestra Financial: Kestra Financial is a privately-held independent wealth management platform built through rollup of independent broker-dealers (e.g., Independent Financial Group, Lincoln Investments). Provides BD, RIA, and insurance infrastructure to independent advisors - similar function and target customer as Valmark.
- Commonwealth Financial Network: Commonwealth is a privately-held independent broker-dealer/RIA serving independent financial advisors nationwide with broker-dealer, advisory, and hybrid support. Direct competitor to Valmark among privately-held, culture-driven, hybrid BD/RIA firms targeting high-integrity independent advisors.
- Cambridge Investment Research: Cambridge is among the largest privately-held independent broker-dealers in the U.S., serving independent financial advisors with broker-dealer, RIA, and insurance distribution platforms. Direct structural analogue to Valmark - similar integrated three-function offering for independent advisors, but with a much larger advisor base.
Emerging players
- Markel / Markel Ventures Financial Services portfolio: Markel is a specialty insurer with insurance-linked investment capabilities; adjacent to Valmark's insurance-buying-cooperative model. While not a direct broker-dealer competitor, certain Markel subsidiaries compete in niche life insurance distribution where Valmark also operates via Executive Insurance Agency.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ValMark Financial Group social profiles
Digital presenceValMark Financial Group compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
ValMark Financial Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ValMark Financial Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
ValMark Financial Group subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
ValMark Financial Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ValMark Financial Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ValMark Financial Group
What does ValMark Financial Group do?
ValMark Financial Group operates an integrated platform that combines a full-service broker-dealer (Valmark Securities, FINRA/SIPC member), an SEC-registered investment advisor (Valmark Advisers), and an insurance producer group (Executive Insurance Agency) to serve more than 100 independent Member Firms across the U.S. The company offers proprietary tools including TOPS ETF portfolio management, Life Assurance 360 (LA360), the AI-enabled Opportunity Engine, the Policy Management Company, and life settlement brokerage services, supported by access to 25+ insurance carriers and $10 billion in assets under management and advisement.
Is ValMark Financial Group a public or private company?
ValMark Financial Group is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was ValMark Financial Group founded?
ValMark Financial Group was founded in 1963. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is ValMark Financial Group based?
ValMark Financial Group is headquartered in Akron, United States, in the North America region.
How does ValMark Financial Group make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Broker-Dealer Commission Revenue is the primary driver. The others are investment Advisory Fees, insurance Agency Commissions, policy Management Services (PMC) and life Settlement Brokerage.
Who are ValMark Financial Group's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are LPL Financial, Northwestern Mutual, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, Cetera Financial Group and Securities America (Advisor Group). Kingswood Wealth Advisors is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Kestra Financial, Commonwealth Financial Network and Cambridge Investment Research. Markel / Markel Ventures Financial Services portfolio is listed as an emerging player.
Does ValMark Financial Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for ValMark Financial Group.
What industry is ValMark Financial Group in?
ValMark Financial Group's product category is Broker-Dealer and Wealth Management Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAAACAI, Insurance-Integrated Wealth Managers (RIA + Insurance Solutions), with a secondary code of FSAEABAB, Broker-Dealer Affiliated Wealth Advisory. Its NAICS code is 52394 and its SIC code is 6282.