Urban Futures

What Urban Futures does

Urban Futures, Inc. (UFI) is a privately held California municipal advisory firm founded in 1972 that provides financial advisory services to public sector clients throughout California. The firm operates through four specialized divisions: the Public Finance Group, which advises cities, counties, special districts, charter schools, and non-profits on debt issuance; Isom Advisors, which delivers planning, election campaign, and financial advisory services to California school and community college districts; the Public Management Group, which provides long-term financial forecasting, pension and OPEB liability modeling, and fiscal sustainability planning; and the Analytics and Compliance Group, which delivers post-issuance compliance services including continuing disclosure reports, arbitrage rebate calculations, and CDIAC reporting. The firm employs 20 Series 50-licensed municipal and financial advisors with backgrounds as former city managers, finance directors, general counsel, public finance investment bankers, rating analysts, and public agency auditors, and operates from offices in Walnut Creek and Orange, California.

The firm's technology stack is built around standard third-party market data infrastructure — Bloomberg, TM3 (Thompson Reuters), and EMMA (MSRB Electronic Municipal Market Access) — combined with a web-based post-issuance compliance platform and customized Excel-based long-term financial forecast models with scenario evaluation capabilities. UFI does not employ proprietary AI/ML systems or model pipelines; differentiation rests on human advisory expertise, regulatory knowledge, and the integration of four service lines across the public finance lifecycle.

UFI generates revenue through three compensation structures disclosed in its MSRB regulatory filings: contingent/transactional fees tied to successful bond closings and deal size, hourly billing rates for personnel time, and fixed-fee arrangements established at engagement outset based on duration, complexity, and scope. Revenue streams include municipal advisory fees regulated under MSRB/SEC rules (transaction fees on debt issuances such as COPs/lease revenue, general obligation, tax allocation, pension obligation, and CFD/special tax bonds) and non-municipal advisory services (program management, construction consulting, facilities master planning, arbitrage rebate, software solutions, ballot/election support, fiscal impact analysis, and P3 consulting). Customers are exclusively California public agencies — over 150 cities, school districts, successor agencies, joint powers authorities, and enterprise districts — with go-to-market executed via direct engagement by Series 50 municipal advisors; the firm does not sell products through third-party distribution channels.

Name

Urban Futures

Legal name

Urban Futures, Inc.

Website

https://urbanfuturesinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Urban Futures, Inc. is a California municipal advisory firm (founded 1972) providing debt issuance, financial planning, post-issuance compliance, and school bond election services to cities, counties, school districts, and special districts exclusively in California, through 20 Series 50-licensed advisors across four divisions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Advisory Services

NAICS

Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Emerging Markets Debt (Hard & Local Currency) (FSACABAJ)

Keywords

• Municipal advisory services
• Public finance advisory
• Debt issuance services
• Bond election services
• Post-issuance compliance

Headquarters

HQ city

Tustin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Municipal Advisory Fees: UFI receives compensation from Issuers or Obligated Persons for municipal advisory services rendered, structured as contingent/transactional fees tied to successful closing of transactions and/or based on the size of the transaction. Also includes hourly billing rates and fixed-fee arrangements established at the outset of engagements.
2. Non-Municipal Advisory Services: Firm generates revenue from non-municipal advisory services including program management, construction consulting, facilities master planning, arbitrage rebate services, software solutions, bond ballot and election support services, fiscal impact analysis, and P3 consulting — provided under separate agreements outside MSRB/SEC regulatory scope.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Urban Futures, Inc. (UFI) is a California municipal advisory firm founded in 1972 that provides financial advisory services to public sector clients. The firm operates four specialized divisions: Public Finance Group (debt issuance advisory for cities, counties, special districts, charter schools, and non-profits), Isom Advisors (school and community college district bond program planning, election services, and financial advisory), Public Management Group (long-term financial forecasting, pension/OPEB modeling, fiscal sustainability planning), and Analytics and Compliance Group (post-issuance continuing disclosure, arbitrage rebate, and CDIAC reporting).

Product overview

Urban Futures, Inc. (UFI) is a municipal advisory firm providing financial advisory services to public sector clients throughout California since 1972. The company operates through four main divisions: Public Finance Group, Isom Advisors (a sub-brand focused on school districts), Analytics and Compliance Group, and Public Management Group. UFI's Public Finance Group and Isom Advisors provide municipal advisory for debt issuance, while the Analytics and Compliance Group handles post-issuance compliance services, and the Public Management Group delivers financial forecasting, pension modeling, and fiscal sustainability planning. Isom Advisors further subdivides into School Bond Financial Planning, School Bond Election Services, and School Bond Financial Advisory modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Isom Advisors: Full service planning, campaign, and financial advisory division serving California school districts with bond and financing programs, including election services, financial planning, and financial advisory.
• District Advocates Group (DAG)
• K12 Partners

Products and services

• Public Finance Group
• Isom Advisors
• School Bond Financial Planning
• School Bond Election Services
• School Bond Financial Advisory
• Analytics and Compliance Group
• Public Management Group

Quantifiable outcome

• 90%+ general obligation bond election passage rate
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Athenate, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUFI's K12 Partners division has entered into a strategic partnership with Athenate, Inc. to provide facilities master planning, needs assessments, software solutions, and related services. The parties split net revenue from master planning and/or services and/or software contracts originated by UFI. Certain UFI employees also hold ownership interests in Athenate, Inc. These are non-municipal advisory services.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• KNN Public Finance: KNN is one of the largest independent California-focused municipal advisory firms, directly competing with UFI for city, county, school district, and special district bond issuance mandates. Like UFI, it offers a multi-division platform (K-12, public finance, compliance) and competes head-to-head for the same California issuer clients.
• Fieldman, Rolapp & Associates: Fieldman Rolapp is a long-established independent municipal advisor specializing in California public agencies, with deep penetration in school district and special district financings. It is a direct competitor to UFI's Public Finance Group and Isom Advisors for the same issuer base.
• PFM Financial Advisors (PFM Group): PFM Group's financial advisory arm provides municipal advisory, financial planning, and post-issuance services to state and local governments nationwide, with a strong California presence. It competes directly with UFI's Public Finance Group, Public Management Group, and Analytics & Compliance divisions.
• CSG Advisors: CSG Advisors is a California-focused municipal advisory firm serving cities, schools, and special districts with debt issuance and continuing disclosure services. It is a direct competitor in the same geographic and product market as UFI's Public Finance and Analytics & Compliance groups.

Broad incumbents

• Piper Sandler Public Finance: Piper Sandler operates a large national public finance practice covering municipal advisory, underwriting, and escrow services across multiple states. As a broad incumbent with both broker-dealer and advisory capabilities, it competes with UFI for California municipal mandates where bundled underwriting/advisory offerings appeal to issuers.
• Stifel Public Finance: Stifel's Public Finance division provides municipal advisory, underwriting, and related services to a wide range of government and nonprofit issuers. As a broad incumbent with national scale, it competes for larger California municipal financings where scale and balance sheet matter.
• Wells Fargo Public Finance: Wells Fargo's Public Finance group provides municipal advisory, underwriting, and capital markets services to state and local governments including California issuers. It is a broad incumbent competitor with deep balance-sheet capabilities that UFI cannot match.
• Raymond James Public Finance: Raymond James operates a Public Finance practice providing municipal advisory and underwriting to government issuers. As a broader financial services firm with national reach, it competes for California municipal mandates where integrated underwriting is valued.

Emerging players

• Caldwell Flores Winters (CFW): CFW is a California-focused advisor specializing in school district bond election campaign strategy and financial advisory, directly competing with Isom Advisors in the K-12 market. It is an emerging/specialized player with strong overlap on bond election services.

Others

• California Municipal Statistics, Inc. California Municipal Statistics provides information services (preparation of bond tables, official statements, rating agency presentations) used by municipal advisors and underwriters. It is adjacent to UFI's Analytics & Compliance services and has disclosed employee cross-ownership with UFI.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urban-futures-inc./about

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries6 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 Urban Futures