Painted Porch Advisors

What Painted Porch Advisors does

Painted Porch Advisors is a privately held, fee-only fiduciary wealth management firm founded in 2019 and headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, with a secondary office in Dallas, Texas. Operating as Painted Porch LLC, the firm serves individual investors and families with comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and—through a separate platform—access to curated alternative investments including private equity, commercial real estate, and venture capital for qualified investors. Its "Help First" philosophy centers on providing free upfront financial planning and consultation with no sales pressure, deliberately addressing problems both inside and outside traditional wealth management such as business sales, major life transitions, and everyday financial decisions.

The firm runs a fee-only, subscription-style compensation model with annual billing cadence, no commissions, and no proprietary product sales, aligning advisor incentives with clients. Distribution is direct-to-client through a sales-led motion combining content marketing (notably a blog called "The Porch" with coffee talks and educational articles), community engagement, and client referrals; services are delivered via virtual meetings supported by industry-leading financial planning software, robust reporting and analytics for advisor and investment committee use, and a small national footprint anchored by the Santa Barbara headquarters and Dallas secondary office. Customer segments are individual investors and families (primary) and high-net-worth qualified investors (secondary), with no enterprise or institutional clients.

Painted Porch is bootstrapped with no external institutional funding, privately held by its founders and managing partners (notably Founder/CEO Brian Lloyd, who previously worked in investment banking, private equity, and hedge fund management in New York). The firm has expanded headcount from approximately 8 team members in 2020 to 20+ by 2025 across advisor, operations, client concierge, and analyst roles, with senior hires from JPMorgan, Dimensional Fund Advisors, and other institutional finance backgrounds. It is actively operating with ongoing content publication through 2026 and a continued cadence of advisor onboarding.

Name

Painted Porch Advisors

Legal name

Painted Porch LLC

Website

https://paintedporchadvisors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Painted Porch Advisors is a privately held, fee-only fiduciary wealth management firm founded in 2019 in Santa Barbara, serving individual investors and families with comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and a curated alternative investment platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management Advisory

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Advisory Portfolio Management (Non-Discretionary) (FSAAABAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Directed Trust & Trust Advisory Services (FSAAANAK)

Keywords

• Fee-only advisory
• Financial planning
• Wealth management
• Fiduciary services
• Investment management

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Barbara

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fee-Only Financial Advisory: Compensation determined by client relationships rather than assets under management or commissions. The firm is a fiduciary and fee-only, avoiding conflicts of interest. They do not push proprietary products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Painted Porch Advisors is a fee-only fiduciary wealth management firm that delivers comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and a curated alternative investment platform to individual investors and families. Services are delivered through a "Help First" engagement model that provides complimentary upfront planning and consultation with no sales pressure, combining data-driven investment processes with holistic life-goal planning.

Product overview

Painted Porch Advisors is a fee-only financial advisory firm offering a unified set of wealth management services centered on its Help First philosophy. The core offering combines comprehensive financial planning with investment management, supplemented by a curated alternative investment platform for qualified investors. All services are delivered through a fiduciary, client-centric approach with no proprietary products or sales pressure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Planning Services
• Investment Management
• Alternative Investment Platform
• Help First Program

Quantifiable outcome

• $100 donated to charity for every financial plan created
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Girls Inc. of Greater Santa BarbaracoreOthersCharitable partnership where Painted Porch donates $100 for every financial plan created. First recipient of Help First charitable commitment. Supports Girls Inc's mission to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold through long-lasting mentoring relationships, a pro-girl environment, and research-based programming.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Empower Personal Dashboard (formerly Personal Capital): Large-scale digital wealth manager offering financial planning and investment management to retail and HNW clients. Comparable in fiduciary advisory offering and comprehensive planning emphasis, but at vastly greater scale, with proprietary technology tools and broader product set.
• Carson Group: Large enterprise serving independent financial advisors with back-office, investment, and practice-management support. Comparable in that it enables fee-only advisors serving HNW individuals, but operates a partnership/affiliate model at vastly greater scale than Painted Porch's single-firm approach.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Large national fee-only RIA offering financial planning, investment management, and workplace retirement services. Comparable in fiduciary model and individual-client focus, but operates at materially greater scale with institutional distribution channels.
• Creative Planning: One of the largest independent fee-only RIAs in the US, providing financial planning, investment management, and tax services. Comparable in fiduciary, fee-only positioning and comprehensive planning, but at vastly greater scale with national footprint and a much broader service portfolio.

Direct peers

• Ritholtz Wealth Management: Boutique fee-only RIA focused on evidence-based investing and comprehensive financial planning for individuals. Directly comparable in fiduciary model, content-marketing-driven client acquisition, and target client profile, with overlapping philosophy around transparent, conflict-free advice.
• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: National fee-only RIA with a focus on evidence-based financial planning and wealth management for individuals and families. Directly comparable to Painted Porch in fiduciary model, fee-only structure, and comprehensive planning emphasis, but at materially greater scale with multiple offices.
• True Wealth Design: Boutique fee-only RIA providing comprehensive financial planning and investment management to HNW individuals and families. Comparable in fee-only fiduciary model, holistic life-goal planning emphasis, and small-team delivery structure, though with different geographic concentration.

Regional players

• Halbert Hargrove: Long-established fee-only RIA based in Southern California serving HNW individuals and families with comprehensive wealth management. Directly comparable in fee-only fiduciary model and HNW individual focus, with overlapping California geography and similar boutique scale.

Emerging players

• Facet Wealth: Digital-first fee-only RIA offering flat-fee financial planning and investment management. Comparable in fiduciary, fee-only positioning and target client (mass-affluent and HNW individuals) but differentiates through a tech-enabled delivery model and lower minimums.
• Betterment: Digital wealth manager offering automated and hybrid financial planning and investment management. Comparable in addressing individual investors seeking fiduciary advice, but differentiates through robo-advisor technology, lower minimums, and a tech-led delivery model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/paintedporchadvisors
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/painted-porch-advisors-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 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 Painted Porch Advisors