What CooksonPeirce does

CooksonPeirce is a Pittsburgh-based, 100% employee-owned registered investment adviser founded in 1984 that delivers wealth management and investment management services to high-net-worth individuals and families, and also supplies institutional-grade portfolio management to independent and wirehouse financial advisors. The firm offers ten investment strategies organized into three series (Momentum, Style, and Outcome-Oriented), a comprehensive financial planning service following a seven-step process, and a proprietary Market Intelligence Platform that includes a Heat Map visualization and the CooksonPeirce Power Index. Its core technology is a time-tested, in-house stock ranking system that re-evaluates approximately 1,500-1,700 stocks weekly using relative-strength signals, producing concentrated portfolios of roughly 25-40 positions with disciplined buy and sell rules and roughly 100% annual turnover.

The firm operates from four offices (Pittsburgh headquarters, Akron, Naples, and Greenville) and serves clients across 35 states, with assets under management exceeding $2.5 billion across 1,000+ private client households as of March 2026. Its revenue model is a subscription-style AUM-based advisory fee, with a standard 1% rate that is positioned as below many peers and includes comprehensive financial planning, combined with a tiered fee schedule featuring breakpoints by account value and asset class. Distribution is dual-channel: direct private wealth advisory relationships and a B2B channel selling model portfolios to independent and wirehouse advisors, supported by a dedicated Business Development Officer and Regional Advisor Consultant. Key technology integrations include Schwab as primary custodian (with $0 commission trading), Tamarac for client portal access, ShareFile for secure document sharing, and Salesforce for CRM. The leadership team is headed by Cory S. Krebs (President & CEO), Daniel S. Henderson and Bruce W. Miller (Co-Chairmen), Luke J. O'Neill (CIO), and Robin Miller (CCO & CFO), with the firm employing an unusually dense concentration of 8 CFPs and 5 CFAs for a firm of its size.

Name

CooksonPeirce

Legal name

Cookson, Peirce & Co., Inc.

Website

https://cooksonpeirce.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CooksonPeirce is a Pittsburgh-based, 100% employee-owned registered investment adviser founded in 1984 that provides evidence-based, momentum-driven investment management and financial planning to high-net-worth households and institutional-grade portfolio management to independent and wirehouse advisors across 35 states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

akta.pro primary industry

Advisory Portfolio Management (Non-Discretionary) (FSAAABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Comprehensive Financial Planning (FSAEAAAA), Business Owner & Executive Financial Planning (FSAEAAAO)

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Investment management
• Financial planning
• Portfolio management
• Retirement planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Pittsburgh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advisory Fee on Assets Under Management: The firm charges a competitive 1% advisory fee on assets under management (AUM), which is lower than many firms. The fee includes comprehensive financial planning. They also use a tiered fee schedule with breakpoints for higher account values and by asset class.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CooksonPeirce is a privately held, 100% employee-owned registered investment adviser that delivers discretionary investment management and comprehensive financial planning services to high-net-worth individuals, families, and financial advisors. The firm offers ten equity strategies organized into three series (Momentum, Style, and Outcome-Oriented) using a proprietary, rules-based momentum process refined over 40+ years, paired with a 7-step financial planning methodology and a proprietary Market Intelligence Platform. It manages over $2.5 billion in assets for more than 1,000 private client households across 35 states and operates four offices in Pittsburgh, Akron, Naples, and Greenville.

Product overview

CooksonPeirce is a wealth management firm offering a unified suite of investment management services built around evidence-based, momentum-driven strategies. The core offering centers on ten investment strategies organized into three series: Momentum Series (All Cap Equity, Small/Mid Cap Equity, All Cap Moderate Equity, Diversified All Cap, Focus Large Cap, Short-Term Aggressive), Style Series (Value, Quality Growth), and Outcome-Oriented Series (Equity Income, Low Volatility). These are complemented by Financial Planning services and a proprietary Market Intelligence Platform featuring Heat Map visualization and the CooksonPeirce Power Index. The firm serves private clients and institutional advisors, with strategies managed in-house using a quantitative, rules-based process refined since 1984.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CooksonPeirce: Primary brand name under which the firm operates its wealth management and investment advisory services.

Products and services

• Momentum Series A collection of equity strategies using momentum-based investing, including All Cap Equity, Small/Mid Cap Equity, All Cap Moderate Equity, Diversified All Cap, Focus Large Cap, and Short-Term Aggressive strategies designed to capture market trends and ride winning stocks while purging losers. Designed for private clients and advisors seeking evidence-based equity strategies.
• Style Series Value and Quality Growth strategies designed for distinct market characteristics, offering investors exposure to different investment styles based on market conditions. Designed for private clients and advisors seeking style-based equity strategies.
• Outcome-Oriented Series Strategies constructed with specific portfolio objectives, including Equity Income for dividend-paying equities and Low Volatility for reducing portfolio fluctuation over time. Designed for private clients and advisors seeking outcome-oriented equity strategies.
• Financial Planning Comprehensive financial planning service following a 7-step process covering goals assessment, strategy building, implementation, and ongoing tracking. Designed for professionals, pre-retirees, high net worth families, and retirees.
• Private Wealth Management Comprehensive wealth management services for affluent individuals and families including investment management, financial planning, taxes, insurance, estates, and budgeting with ongoing advisor access. Designed for high-net-worth individuals and families.
• Market Intelligence Platform Proprietary platform providing investment tools and insights including a Heat Map visualization and CooksonPeirce Power Index for monitoring market conditions including oversold or overbought inflection points. Available to registered users.
• All Cap Equity Strategy Concentrated portfolio of 25-40 stocks diversified across market capitalizations using a strict momentum approach to buy market leaders and purge underperformers, seeking differentiation from broad market indexes. Designed for private clients and advisors seeking a differentiated equity strategy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Annual turnover ratio of approximately 100% with about 30 positions and 30 trades annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SchwabcoreOthersSchwab serves as the primary custodian for client accounts. The firm extends $0 commission rates on the purchase or sale of individual stocks to CooksonPeirce clients. This partnership enables cost-effective trading for clients.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fort Pitt Capital Group: Pittsburgh-based RIA of comparable size that provides discretionary portfolio management and financial planning to HNW individuals and families in the same regional market. CooksonPeirce's former CCO Robin Miller held the same role at Fort Pitt, indicating directly comparable operating model and client profile.
• Manning & Napier Advisors: Multi-decade boutique wealth manager with proprietary fundamental and quantitative equity strategies serving HNW households and institutions. Senior Research Analyst Jake Symoniak joined CooksonPeirce from Manning & Napier, reflecting near-identical investment process and client segment.
• Allegheny Investments: Pittsburgh-based registered investment adviser offering discretionary portfolio management and financial planning to HNW clients in the same regional footprint. CooksonPeirce's current CCO/CFO Robin Miller previously served as CCO at Allegheny, evidencing parallel operating model and service offering.
• JFS Wealth Advisors: Boutique RIA focused on personal financial planning, retirement, and asset management for HNW households. Wealth Director Janelle Woods joined CooksonPeirce from JFS in an executive vice president role, signaling a directly comparable boutique advisory platform serving the same client profile.
• Laurel Capital Advisors: Pittsburgh-based investment manager offering institutional and private wealth equity strategies. CEO Cory Krebs previously traded block orders at Laurel Capital, evidencing directly comparable regional asset management operations and product overlap.
• Symons Capital Management: Smaller Pittsburgh-area institutional investment manager. Business Development Officer Tim Johns came directly from Symons Capital, where he was EVP & Managing Director, evidencing directly comparable boutique investment management focus.
• W.E. Donoghue & Associates: Smaller specialist quantitative equity manager applying momentum and factor-based strategies to U.S. equities. Closely comparable investment philosophy to CooksonPeirce's proprietary momentum-driven process, though with a narrower product set and no financial planning offering.

Broad incumbents

• PNC Wealth Management: Large regional bank wealth management division headquartered in Pittsburgh offering investment management, financial planning, and private banking. Multiple CooksonPeirce leaders came from PNC (Daniel Henderson, Edward Beighey, Scott Oros, Joshua Beas, Daniel Meyers), reflecting it as a primary competitive incumbent in the same HNW market.
• Federated Investors: Pittsburgh-headquartered global investment manager with mutual funds, ETFs, and managed accounts. Director of Institutional Group Christian Brown and CEO Cory Krebs both worked at Federated, and the firm competes for the same Pittsburgh-based wealth management talent and institutional mandates.

Emerging players

• AJO Partners: Specialist quantitative equity manager applying systematic, factor-based approaches to U.S. equities. Directly comparable to CooksonPeirce's quantitative, rules-based momentum process, though operating at larger institutional scale and without CooksonPeirce's financial planning layer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 CooksonPeirce