Cherry Tree Wealth Management

What Cherry Tree Wealth Management does

Cherry Tree Wealth Management, LLC is a privately held, SEC-registered investment adviser operating on a fee-only fiduciary basis. Founded in 2013 as Adam Smith Advisors and rebranded in 2018, the firm is headquartered in Minnetonka, MN with a branch office in Traverse City, MI, and employs between 11 and 50 people. The firm serves individuals, families, and small businesses with wealth management, financial planning, 401(k) plan solutions, estate planning, and tax advice.

Its core service offering is built around a proprietary One-Page Financial Plan framework, which consolidates client goals, asset allocation, and action items into a single document. Investment management follows an index-based philosophy implemented through diversified passive vehicles, with operations supported by the Tamarac client portal for reporting and account aggregation. Service lines are delivered by a credentialed team including a CIO (John O'Connor), CFO/CCO (Jane Bortnem), and President (Conner Kolodge), under founders Tony Christianson (Chairman) and Gordon Stofer.

The firm generates revenue through asset-based advisory fees typical of the RIA model, supplemented by planning and 401(k) plan services for small businesses. Growth has been executed through tuck-in acquisitions (WMS in 2013, TFP in 2017), the 2018 rebrand, and geographic extension into Michigan. The firm has been recognized as a Five Star Wealth Manager every year from 2011 through 2025.

Name

Cherry Tree Wealth Management

Legal name

Cherry Tree Wealth Management, LLC

Website

https://cherrytreewealth.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cherry Tree Wealth Management is a fee-only fiduciary RIA serving individuals, families, and small businesses with wealth management, financial planning, 401(k) solutions, and estate planning from Minnetonka, MN and Traverse City, MI.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAEABAA

Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Wealth Management

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Wealth & Retirement Advisory

SECONDARYFSAAAAAF

Financial Planning & Goals-Based Advice (Mass Affluent)

Financial & Insurance/Asset & Wealth Management/Retail & Mass-Affluent Wealth Management

SECONDARYFSAAABAE

Private Wealth Planning (Tax, Estate & Succession)

Financial & Insurance/Asset & Wealth Management/Private Banking & HNW/UHNW Wealth Management

SECONDARYFSAAAAAJ

Retirement & Pension Wealth (401(k)/IRA/SIPP/Superannuation Retail)

Financial & Insurance/Asset & Wealth Management/Retail & Mass-Affluent Wealth Management

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Investment advisory
• Financial planning
• Retirement planning
• 401(k) solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Minnetonka

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. Advisory Fees (Fee-Only): As a fee-only fiduciary advisory firm, CTW charges fees directly to clients without commissions on products sold. The firm does not earn compensation based on products recommended, ensuring unbiased advice aligned with client interests.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cherry Tree Wealth Management is a fee-only fiduciary SEC-registered investment advisory firm that delivers personalized wealth management to individuals, families, and small businesses. Its core offering combines global strategic asset allocation using low-cost, diversified, tax-efficient index-based portfolios with a proprietary one-page financial planning model, plus 401(K) solutions, estate planning advice, and tax advice.

Product overview

Cherry Tree Wealth Management is a fee-only fiduciary investment advisory firm that operates as a single unified wealth management service. The core offering combines investment management with proprietary one-page financial planning, supported by 401(K) solutions, estate planning advice, and tax advice services. The firm's flagship product is its proprietary One-Page Financial Plan, which is included at no extra charge with wealth management services. Additional offerings include Financial Foundations portfolios for new investors, a weekly blog with market insights, and Cherry Tree Wealth Insights newsletters covering various financial topics. The investment approach emphasizes low-cost, diversified, tax-efficient index-based strategies with tilts toward value and small-cap stocks. The firm uses Tamarac's client portal platform for client account access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wealth Management Investment management service using global strategic asset allocation with customized, risk-appropriate portfolios built from low-cost, diversified, index-based, liquid, tax-efficient funds with tilts toward value and small-cap stocks. Targets individuals, families, and small business clients.
• Financial Planning Comprehensive financial planning service showing clients how to reach their financial goals, projecting life out to age 90 and included at no extra charge as part of the wealth management service.
• One-Page Financial Plan Proprietary one-page financial planning model that projects client life to age 90 with a graph of retirement assets each year, including assets, future saving, pension income, social security, college costs, and other factors; deliverable in draft form within an hour of gathering client inputs.
• 401(K) Solutions Cost-competitive 401(K) plan solutions for businesses featuring low-cost index-based funds and target date retirement funds that automate smart investment choices for plan participants.
• Estate Planning Advice Estate planning services that minimize estate taxes and maximize benefits to chosen beneficiaries, with assistance minimizing stress during family transitions.
• Tax Advice Tax-efficient investment strategy and tax advice with expertise in Roth conversions, qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), and tax bracket optimization.
• Financial Foundations Portfolios Initial building blocks portfolio offering for clients starting to build savings and wealth, designed as foundational investment components.

Quantifiable outcome

• 86% of actively managed U.S. stock funds underperformed their benchmark index for 12 consecutive years (2021 data)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Vanguard (ETF Provider)minorOthersCherry Tree Wealth Management is mentioned as one of several institutional investors who increased their positions in the Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCSH) during Q3/Q4. This represents investment allocation rather than a formal partnership.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Fee-only RIA specializing in evidence-based investment management and financial planning for HNW individuals. Directly comparable to Cherry Tree in investment philosophy (low-cost, index-based, academic) and fiduciary, fee-only positioning.
• Moneta Group: Independent, fee-only RIA serving HNW individuals, families, and business owners with investment management, financial planning, and 401(K) services. Comparable in size band, customer segments, and service mix, with similar M&A history of consolidating smaller advisors.
• Cresset Capital: Multi-family office and RIA offering wealth management, tax, estate, and 401(K) services to HNW individuals and business owners. Comparable target customer and full-service offering, with similar size band and fee-only fiduciary posture.
• Carson Group: Mid-sized RIA with a strong advisor support platform, fee-only fiduciary model, and significant M&A history of acquiring independent advisors. Closely comparable to Cherry Tree in target customer (individuals, families, small businesses) and service mix including 401(K) and financial planning.
• Creative Planning: Fee-only fiduciary RIA offering comprehensive wealth management, tax, and estate services to HNW clients. Similar in philosophy (low-cost, evidence-based investing) and breadth of services, with substantially larger scale, making it a clear comparable on product and customer profile.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: National fee-only RIA that has grown aggressively through tuck-in M&A of regional advisory firms, directly mirroring Cherry Tree's acquisition playbook. Comparable in offering breadth (investment management, financial planning, tax, estate) and target customer (HNW individuals and families).

Broad incumbents

• Edelman Financial Engines: Large national RIA combining personal wealth management with workplace retirement plan services. Directly overlaps Cherry Tree's 401(K) Solutions and individual wealth management segments, with significantly broader scale and a hybrid digital-plus-advisor model.

Others

• Focus Financial Partners: Wealth management platform that partners with and acquires independent RIAs. Highly relevant not as a direct competitor to Cherry Tree, but as a potential acquirer / consolidation partner — its business model explicitly serves the kind of founder-led, mid-sized RIAs that Cherry Tree represents or acquires.
• Commonwealth Financial Network: Independent broker-dealer and RIA support platform that serves independent financial advisors. Comparable in providing back-office, compliance, and technology infrastructure to advisor firms, although its core model is broker-dealer versus Cherry Tree's pure RIA.

Regional players

• Plante Moran Financial Advisors: Fee-only RIA affiliated with Plante Moran, serving individuals, families, and businesses across the Midwest. Directly comparable to Cherry Tree in geography, customer segments, and service mix, representing the closest regional peer in the Twin Cities market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adam-smith-advisors
• Facebookfacebook.com/cherrytreewealthmanagement

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Cherry Tree Wealth Management