Abacus Planning Group

What Abacus Planning Group does

Abacus Planning Group, Inc. is a privately held, fee-only Registered Investment Advisor headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, with a second office in Greenville, founded in 1998 by Cheryl Holland. The firm delivers integrated, fiduciary financial planning to approximately 300 client households, managing roughly $2.0 billion in assets as of 2026. Services are organized into five interlocking practice areas: Foundation Year (a structured six-meeting onboarding engagement), Wealth Planning (goal setting, retirement, tax, estate, and charitable planning), Investment Management (portfolio design, asset allocation, tax-loss harvesting), Family Business Advising (multi-generational succession, governance, family charter), and Foundations & Endowments (mission-aligned investing, grant strategy). Deliverables are relationship-driven advisory engagements rather than software products; the firm does not operate a proprietary technology platform, relying instead on third-party financial planning software, portfolio management tools, and AI-based speech-to-text and NLP utilities for meeting documentation. Revenue is generated through recurring advisory fees (predominantly AUM-based under a fee-only, no-commission model), with the firm serving high-net-worth families ($1M+ in assets), family business owners, and select nonprofit/foundation clients across the Southeast United States. The team exceeds 30 professionals including 15+ certified financial planners and charter financial analysts, organized under a co-President leadership structure with Holland as Founder.

Name

Abacus Planning Group

Legal name

Abacus Planning Group, Inc.

Website

https://abacusplanninggroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Abacus Planning Group is a fee-only, fiduciary Registered Investment Advisor founded in 1998 in Columbia, South Carolina, managing approximately $2.0 billion in assets for roughly 300 high-net-worth families and family businesses across the Southeast United States through integrated wealth planning, investment management, and multi-generational advisory services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Financial Planning and Advisory Fees: Fee-only financial advisory services where the firm acts as a fiduciary. Revenue derived from fees for comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and related advisory services. The firm does not earn commissions from product sales, maintaining independence.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Abacus Planning Group is a fee-only financial planning and investment advisory firm that delivers integrated, holistic wealth advisory services to high-net-worth families and individuals. Core offerings include the Foundation Year introductory planning program, Wealth Planning, Investment Management, Family Business Advising, and Foundations & Endowments advisory. The firm manages $2 billion in assets for approximately 300 clients through two South Carolina offices.

Product overview

Abacus Planning Group is a fee-only financial planning firm that offers an integrated, holistic approach to financial advising. The core offering consists of five interconnected service areas: Foundation Year (an introductory structured planning program), Wealth Planning (comprehensive personal financial planning), Investment Management (portfolio design and management), Family Business Advising (succession and governance planning), and Foundations & Endowments (philanthropic advisory). These services are delivered as integrated consulting engagements rather than separate software products or modules, emphasizing collaborative, relationship-driven planning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Foundation Year An introductory planning program structured across six meetings covering goal setting, financial independence modeling, investment policy, tax planning, estate planning review, and portfolio reporting to establish a comprehensive financial foundation for new clients.
• Wealth Planning Comprehensive financial planning encompassing goal setting, retirement planning, income tax planning, estate planning, family transition planning, and charitable giving strategy for affluent individuals and families.
• Investment Management Personalized portfolio management including needs assessment, asset allocation, fund and ETF selection, tax-loss harvesting, and regular performance reporting for client portfolios.
• Family Business Advising Advisory services for family-owned businesses focusing on multi-generational planning, governance structures, financial literacy, and succession planning.
• Foundations & Endowments Specialized advisory services for philanthropic organizations including mission alignment, portfolio creation, and strategic grant distribution support for private foundations and nonprofit endowments.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Creative Planning: Large fee-only RIA offering wealth planning, investment management, and family-office-style services to HNW clients. Comparable to Abacus in fiduciary model, integrated planning approach, and recurring AUM-based revenue, though significantly larger scale.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: National fee-only RIA serving HNW families with comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and family business advisory. Closely comparable service mix and fiduciary positioning.
• Moneta Group: Fee-only RIA providing integrated wealth planning, investment management, and family business advisory to HNW households. Similar service architecture and fiduciary, commission-free model.
• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Fee-only national RIA focused on evidence-based financial planning and investment management for HNW individuals and families. Comparable fiduciary model and integrated planning services.
• Plante Moran Financial Advisors: Fee-only wealth advisory firm offering financial planning, investment management, and family business advisory. Directly comparable in fiduciary positioning and integrated HNW service model.
• Mercer Advisors: National fee-only RIA providing wealth planning, investment management, tax, and estate services to HNW clients, including families and business owners. Directly comparable service suite.

Broad incumbents

• Carson Group: Large RIA and wealth management platform serving advisors and HNW clients via both direct and partner-advisor channels. Comparable integrated wealth planning offering with broader national footprint and ecosystem model.
• Focus Financial Partners: Wealth management aggregator partnering with fiduciary RIAs serving HNW clients. Operates as a broad incumbent platform; comparable end-customer but structurally different via partnership/roll-up model.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Large fee-only RIA combining advisor-led financial planning with technology-enabled investment services for HNW households. Comparable fiduciary model with greater scale and digital tooling.

Regional players

• Janney Montgomery Scott: Regional wealth management and investment advisory firm with HNW financial planning capabilities, headquartered in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast U.S. Overlapping services to HNW families but operates in a different geographic corridor than Abacus's Southeast focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GroupAbacus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Abacus Planning Group