Altfest Personal Wealth Management

What Altfest Personal Wealth Management does

Altfest Personal Wealth Management (legal entity L.J. Altfest & Co., Inc.) is a privately held, fee-only fiduciary registered investment adviser founded in 1983 by Dr. Lewis J. Altfest and headquartered at 445 Park Avenue, New York, with a satellite office opened in 2025 at 1395 Brickell Avenue, Miami. The firm serves clients with $1 million or more in investable assets across at least 14 U.S. jurisdictions (NY, NJ, CT, AZ, CA, FL, IL, LA, MD, MA, NH, TX, VT, VA), with an additional retainer-based tier for planning-only clients below the AUM threshold. Revenue is generated almost entirely through recurring AUM-based fees (approximately 1% on the first $2M, tiered lower above) and flat-fee planning retainers, with no commissions or product sales.

The firm's service offering combines active investment management — executed under a proprietary Total Portfolio Management (TPM) process that designs portfolios around client time horizon, expense patterns, and risk tolerance — with comprehensive financial planning modules covering retirement, tax, estate, insurance, education, cash flow, charitable giving, and company benefits optimization. Plans are stress-tested against hundreds of scenarios incorporating income loss, inflation, medical costs, taxes, insurance, and investment return variability. The 51-100 person in-house team includes multiple CFP, CPA, CFA, CLU, MBA, and JD professionals organized into specialized practice areas, supported by dedicated compliance, operations, IT, real estate, and tax specialists.

Go-to-market is consultative and relationship-driven, anchored by complimentary consultations, content marketing, earned media in major financial publications, and a dense network of preferred-provider partnerships with medical and dental professional associations across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Florida. Vertical specialization (physicians, dentists, psychologists, women, widows/widowers, executives, business owners, emerging professionals, pre-retirees) drives differentiated client acquisition. The firm is family-controlled, with Andrew Altfest serving as President since 2019 under co-founders Lew Altfest (CEO) and Karen Altfest (EVP), and has no external PE/VC/institutional ownership.

Name

Altfest Personal Wealth Management

Legal name

L.J. Altfest & Co., Inc.

Website

https://altfest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Altfest Personal Wealth Management is a fee-only fiduciary RIA founded in 1983 serving HNW clients ($1M+ investable assets) with active investment management via its proprietary TPM process and comprehensive financial planning, distributed primarily through medical/dental association partnerships across NY and FL.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Personal Wealth Management

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 industries

Private Client/High-Net-Worth Advisory (FSAEAAAN), Trust & Fiduciary Advisory for HNW/UHNW (Trust Structuring & Trustee Oversight) (FSAAABAF)

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Financial planning services
• Investment management
• Fee-only fiduciary
• Retirement planning services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

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. Assets Under Management (AUM): Fee-only fiduciary advisory services with AUM-based fees. This is the primary revenue model where fees are calculated as a percentage of client assets under management. The firm does not sell financial products or earn commissions, ensuring objective advice free from conflicts of interest.
2. Retainer/Financial Planning Services: For clients seeking only financial planning services without investment management, the firm offers retainer-based pricing arrangements

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Altfest Personal Wealth Management is a fee-only fiduciary registered investment adviser that delivers active, customized investment management guided by a proprietary Total Portfolio Management (TPM) process, combined with comprehensive financial planning covering retirement, tax, estate, insurance, education, cash flow, and charitable giving. Services are sold primarily to high-net-worth individuals and families with $1 million or more in investable assets, with specialized service tracks for physicians, dentists, psychologists, women, and widows and widowers.

Product overview

Altfest Personal Wealth Management is a fee-only fiduciary wealth management firm offering a unified suite of financial planning and investment management services. The core offering consists of active investment management using a proprietary Total Portfolio Management (TPM®) process, combined with comprehensive financial planning covering retirement, tax, estate, insurance, education, cash flow, and charitable giving. The firm serves clients with $1 million or more in investable assets across two primary offices in New York, NY and Miami, FL. Specialized service modules target distinct client segments including physicians, dentists, women, psychologists, widows and widowers, emerging professionals, business owners, executives, and pre-retirees and retirees. The firm operates exclusively on a fee-only fiduciary basis, refraining from product sales or commission-based compensation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investment Management Active, customized investment portfolio management guided by an investment committee led by Lew Altfest, with a focus on risk reduction through diversification and value-oriented investment opportunities, sold on a fee-only AUM basis.
• Comprehensive Financial Planning Integrated planning service covering retirement, taxes, estate planning, insurance, education savings, charitable giving, cash flow analysis, and company benefits optimization, tailored to each client's goals and life circumstances, sold standalone or paired with investment management.
• Total Portfolio Management (TPM) Proprietary investment design process and methodology used to tailor portfolios to client time horizon, expense patterns, and risk tolerance, with portfolio stress-testing against hundreds of scenarios.
• Financial Planning for Physicians Specialized advisory service for physicians addressing delayed wealth accumulation, high tax exposure, student loan burdens, creditor protection, retirement planning, and practice succession.
• Financial Planning for Dentists Specialized advisory service for dental practitioners covering business owner planning, liability protection, estate planning, real estate investments, student debt optimization, tax reduction, and succession planning.
• Financial Planning for Women Holistic financial planning and investment guidance for women clients, addressing retirement planning, tax strategy, estate planning, asset protection, employer benefits, and charitable giving.
• Financial Planning for Psychologists Specialized advisory service for psychologists addressing retirement planning, tax-efficient strategies, pension optimization, 401(k) maximization, workplace retirement plans, and financial statement organization.
• Financial Planning for Widows and Widowers Sensitive financial planning and support for widows and widowers, addressing stability restoration, income continuity, estate planning, savings strategies, and education planning for dependents.
• Retainer-Based Financial Planning Service Flat-fee retainer service providing comprehensive financial planning for clients who do not require (or do not yet require) full AUM-based investment management, ideal for clients with moderate financial complexity.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40+ years of continuous operation as fee-only fiduciary since 1983
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 November 2025Altfest selected as Business Solutions Partner for MSSNY members, providing financial planning education and services to physicians. This partnership positions Altfest as the preferred wealth manager for MSSNY member physicians.
• Florida Medical Association (FMA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerPreferred wealth manager for FMA members, providing specialized financial planning services tailored to Florida physicians including retirement planning, tax optimization, and investment management.
• Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerTogether with PAMED, launched PAMED Financial Planning program - a unique benefit for Pennsylvania physicians providing comprehensive financial planning services.
• New York State Dental Association (NYSDA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerPreferred wealth manager for NYSDA members since 2010, conducting educational programming on topics impacting dentists at each life stage including student debt optimization, tax reduction, cash flow management, and retirement readiness.
• New York State Psychological Association (NYSPA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerPreferred wealth manager for NYSPA members, providing specialized financial planning for psychologists addressing insurance reimbursement challenges, pension optimization, and comprehensive retirement planning.
• Medical Society of New Jersey (MSNJ)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides financial planning services and education to physician members in New Jersey.
• Broward County Medical Association (BCMA)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides financial planning support and education to Broward County physicians.
• New York State Society of Orthopaedic Surgeons (NYSSOS)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPreferred wealth management education provider for orthopaedic surgeons in New York.
• Emerald Coast Medical Association (ECMA)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides financial planning services and education to ECMA member physicians in Florida.
• New York Chapter of the American College of Surgeons (NYACS)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFinancial planning education and services for NYACS surgeon members.
• Miami Dade County Medical Association (DCMA)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPreferred wealth management services for Miami Dade County physicians.
• New York Chapter of the American College of Physicians (NYACP)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFinancial planning education and services for NYACP physician members.
• Westchester County Medical Society (WCMS)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSelected as preferred wealth management firm for WCMS physician members.
• Greater Long Island Dental Meeting (GLIDM)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides financial planning education and services to Greater Long Island dental professionals.
• Bronx County Dental Society (BCDS)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFinancial planning support for BCDS dentist members.
• New York 9th District Dental Association (9DDA)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerEducational programming and financial planning services for 9th District dentists.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Empower (Personal Capital): Hybrid digital wealth manager combining technology-driven planning tools with human advisory for HNW clients. Represents the digitally-enabled competitive threat to traditional relationship-led RIAs like Altfest.

Direct peers

• Edelman Financial Engines: Large RIA combining financial planning with investment management for HNW and mass-affluent clients. Comparable fee-based model with strong brand recognition in personal wealth management.
• Hightower Advisors: RIA partnership platform serving HNW clients through advisor teams offering financial planning, investment management, and family office services. Comparable multi-advisor team structure and fee-only positioning.
• Carson Group: Wealth management firm serving financial advisors and their HNW clients through coaching, technology, and back-office support. Comparable fee-based RIA model with comprehensive planning focus.
• Mercer Advisors: National independent RIA providing wealth management, tax planning, estate planning, and investment management to HNW households. Similar integrated planning model with multiple-office geographic footprint.
• Creative Planning: Large independent fee-only RIA offering comprehensive financial planning and investment management to HNW clients, with comparable AUM-based fee model and multidisciplinary in-house team. One of the largest direct peers to Altfest in scale and service breadth.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Independent RIA serving HNW and UHNW clients with comprehensive financial planning, tax, estate, and investment management services. Closely comparable business model to Altfest with similar fee-only fiduciary positioning.
• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Fee-only RIA focused on evidence-based financial planning and investment management for HNW individuals. Comparable comprehensive planning approach and AUM-based fee structure to Altfest.

Broad incumbents

• Fisher Investments: Large global investment management firm serving HNW and institutional clients. Operates in adjacent space with portfolio management focus but broader scale and product set than Altfest.
• Focus Financial Partners: Leading partnership of independent RIAs providing wealth management services to HNW clients. Comparable business model at the firm-of-firms level, though broader and more acquisitive than Altfest.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/altfestpwm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/altfestpersonalwealthmanagement
• Xx.com/altfestpwm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Altfest Personal Wealth Management