Willow Creek Wealth Management

What Willow Creek Wealth Management does

Willow Creek Wealth Management is an independent, employee-owned SEC-registered investment adviser founded in 1984 by Bruce Dzieza in Sebastopol, California, and led today by President & CEO Timothy Admire (since 2014). The firm provides integrated wealth management to more than 700 affluent individuals and families, business owners and professional corporations, and non-profit organizations and endowments, serving clients in Sonoma County, the San Francisco Bay Area, and across the country via in-person and remote advisory delivery. Service offerings comprise Financial Planning, Investments, Retirement Plans, Tax Planning, Charitable Giving, Sustainable Investing, and Specialized Services (business succession, estate, special needs, divorce, real estate, college funding, and stock option planning), supported by a Client Portal and ShareFile document exchange.

The firm's investment platform is built on an evidence-based, academic-research-driven philosophy adopted in 1991 through its long-standing partnership with Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), leveraging Nobel Prize-winning research on efficient markets and factor investing. Portfolios are constructed primarily through DFA, Vanguard, Avantis, and State Street Global Advisors funds, with custody and clearing held at Charles Schwab and BNY Mellon | Pershing. The firm is fee-only with no product-sales commissions, compensated via tiered assets-under-management fees billed quarterly and subject to a $1,250 minimum quarterly fee. Client acquisition is driven by community engagement (board service and volunteer work with 60+ nonprofits), referrals, content marketing (quarterly market commentary, educational articles, video), and an organic social presence; no public API or AI-driven products are offered.

The team of approximately 25 professionals operates as an employee-owned partnership, with four Partner elevations completed in 2024 and 2026, and has been recognized five consecutive years (2021-2025) as a North Bay Business Journal "Best Places to Work." Revenue is AUM-driven and not publicly disclosed, and the firm has no parent company, no subsidiaries, no funding history, and no M&A activity on record.

Name

Willow Creek Wealth Management

Legal name

Willow Creek Wealth Management

Website

https://willowcreekwealth.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Willow Creek Wealth Management is an independent, employee-owned SEC-registered investment adviser in Sebastopol, California, providing fee-only financial planning, investment management, retirement, tax, charitable, and sustainable investing services to more than 700 affluent individuals, families, business owners, and non-profits across the US.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Wealth Management (FSAEABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Retirement Plan Participant Advice & Managed Accounts (FSAEABAF)

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Financial planning advisory
• Investment management services
• Retirement planning services
• Tax planning advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Sebastopol

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Assets Under Management (AUM) Fees: Fee-only advisors compensated based on a percentage of assets under management. The fee tiers down as total assets increase. Minimum quarterly fee of $1,250 which equates to a $500,000 investment portfolio. No commissions or product sales compensation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Willow Creek Wealth Management is an independent, employee-owned, fee-only registered investment adviser that provides comprehensive wealth management services to individuals, families, small businesses, and non-profit organizations. Core offerings integrate financial planning, evidence-based investment management, retirement planning, tax planning, charitable giving, and specialized planning services under a fiduciary, team-based advisory model compensated through recurring AUM-based fees.

Product overview

Willow Creek Wealth Management offers a comprehensive suite of wealth management services centered around its core financial planning and investment management platform. The firm provides Financial Planning, Investments, Retirement Plans, Tax Planning, Charitable Giving, and Specialized Services (including Business Succession, Estate, Real Estate, Special Needs, Divorce, College Funding, and Stock Option Planning) as integrated service offerings. The investment approach utilizes evidence-based strategies through partnerships with Dimensional (DFA), Vanguard, Avantis, and State Street Global Advisors. Additional offerings include Sustainable Investing for values-based portfolios, a Client Portal for account access, and Quarterly Market Commentary publications. The firm serves individuals, families, businesses, and non-profit organizations with an employee-owned, fiduciary business model.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Planning Comprehensive personal financial planning services that help clients define and execute steps to reach their life goals, including organizing financial affairs, analyzing assets and liabilities, employee benefits review, and retirement planning. Designed for individuals and families seeking a coordinated personal financial strategy.
• Investments Disciplined, long-term investment management grounded in evidence-based academic research, implemented through diversified portfolios using Dimensional (DFA), Vanguard, Avantis, and State Street Global Advisors funds with systematic rebalancing. Designed for individuals, families, and institutions seeking evidence-based portfolio management.
• Retirement Plans Retirement planning services including retirement plan distributions management, qualified plan consulting, Social Security planning, and Roth IRA conversion analysis. Designed for individuals and families preparing for or transitioning into retirement.
• Tax Planning Strategic tax planning services that work year-round with clients' tax advisors to reduce tax bills and increase after-tax portfolio returns, including tax-efficient portfolio construction and tax-loss harvesting. Designed for individuals, families, and business owners seeking tax-aware wealth management.
• Charitable Giving Charitable giving program design and planned giving strategies including Qualified Charitable Donations (QCDs), Donor Advised Funds (DAF), personal and family foundations, and charitable remainder trusts (CRT). Designed for individuals, families, and non-profits seeking structured philanthropic strategies.
• Sustainable Investing Sustainable and values-based investment services that allow clients to invest in companies aligned with their environmental and social values, incorporating ESG strategies backed by rigorous research. Designed for individuals and institutions seeking values-aligned portfolio construction.
• Specialized Services Specialized financial planning services including Business Succession Planning, College Funding Planning, Divorce Planning, Senior Life Planning, Estate Planning, Real Estate Consulting, Special Needs Planning, and Stock Option Analysis. Designed for clients facing specific life, business, or financial complexity beyond standard planning engagements.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ceres Community ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit organization focused on food system sustainability. Rawson Gulick serves as co-chair of Board of Directors. The firm organizes team volunteer days at the Sebastopol Kitchen and has long-supported the organization through volunteerism and philanthropy.
• Sonoma Land TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental conservation organization. Jake Weber participated in educational session on strategic charitable giving strategies. Joint educational programming on charitable giving and land conservation.
• Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)coreTechnology or IntegrationLeading fund company implementing evidence-based investment approach grounded in Nobel Prize-winning research. The pivotal relationship began in 1991 when founder Bruce Dzieza met Dimensional Funds in Santa Monica. Firm uses DFA funds as core of investment management philosophy.
• Sonoma County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue UnitminorOthersTimothy Admire has volunteered with this unit since 2009, serving as Search Manager.
• Food for ThoughtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood bank organization in Sonoma County. Dave Homan serves on the Investment Committee. Jason Gittins has served on the board of directors.
• West Marin FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity foundation organization. David Lawrence serves as Treasurer and Executive Committee and Board Member.
• Charles SchwabcoreTechnology or IntegrationCustodian and brokerage platform used for client accounts. Firm offers Client Portal Login linking to Schwab Alliance for client account access.
• BNY Mellon | PershingcoreTechnology or IntegrationCustodian and clearing firm used for client accounts. Firm offers Pershing Login for client account access. Wire instructions available for Pershing accounts.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Creative Planning: Large independent, fee-only RIA offering comprehensive financial planning, investment management, tax, and retirement services to affluent individuals and families. Highly comparable in business model and target market to Willow Creek, but at materially greater scale.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Independent, employee-owned RIA providing comprehensive wealth planning, investment management, and tax services to affluent individuals, families, and institutions. Comparable in fiduciary fee-only model and integrated planning approach.
• Moneta Group: Fee-only RIA and one of the largest independent firms providing holistic financial planning, investment management, and retirement plan services to high-net-worth individuals and families. Closely comparable in integrated planning and employee-ownership structure.
• Savant Wealth Management: Fee-only, employee-owned RIA offering financial planning, investment management, and tax services to individuals, families, and businesses. Directly comparable in size, employee-ownership, and evidence-based investment approach.
• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Fee-only RIA known for evidence-based investing using Dimensional Fund Advisors funds, serving individuals and families with comprehensive financial planning. Highly comparable given shared DFA investment philosophy and fee-only fiduciary model.
• Carson Group: National network of independent financial advisors and RIAs offering wealth management, business coaching, and investment services to individuals and business owners. Comparable in serving affluent families and small-business owners with holistic advice.

Broad incumbents

• Edelman Financial Engines: One of the largest independent RIAs in the U.S., providing financial planning, investment management, and retirement services to individuals and corporate plans. Comparable in service breadth and target market, but operates at vastly greater scale.
• Fisher Investments: Large independent investment management firm primarily serving high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients. Overlaps with Willow Creek on investment management for affluent clients but with a less holistic planning focus.
• Vanguard Personal Advisor Services: Hybrid robo-advisor offering from Vanguard combining digital portfolios with human advisor access for affluent investors. Competes directly with Willow Creek on price and DFA-style evidence-based investing at massive scale.

Emerging players

• Facet Wealth: Digital-first flat-fee RIA providing comprehensive financial planning to mass-affluent and emerging-HNW clients via remote advisor teams. Competes for the same client segment as Willow Creek but with a lower-cost, tech-enabled delivery model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/WcWealth
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@willowcreekwealth
• Facebookfacebook.com/WillowCreekWealth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/willowcreekwealth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Willow Creek Wealth Management