What Capital Strategies does

Capital Strategies Group, Inc. is a tax-driven life insurance advisory firm founded in 1989 (some sources cite 1985) and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with additional offices in Nashville, Tennessee and Deerfield (Chicago), Illinois. The firm serves ultra-high-net-worth families, substantial privately held businesses, and large non-profit organizations, designing and placing customized life insurance structures where the primary value lever is tax efficiency, estate liquidity, and long-horizon wealth transfer rather than product distribution at scale.

The firm operates as a member of M Financial Group, a national network of independently owned advisory firms that grants access to proprietary insurance, annuity, and security products not available to non-members; securities are offered through M Holdings Securities, a FINRA/SIPC-registered broker-dealer. Service delivery is bespoke and quote-based: engagements are scoped individually, with advisory fees plus insurance carrier commissions forming the revenue mix. The team includes a hybrid stack of J.D./LL.M. tax attorneys alongside CPWA, CLU, and ChFC credentialed advisors, enabling in-house structuring of complex policy and trust designs without external counsel.

Go-to-market is referral-driven through estate attorneys, CPAs, family offices, and industry organizations such as FINSECA and ACTEC, with three physical offices supporting the Southeast and Midwest. The firm has expanded via acquisition (Goldstein Financial Group, 2022) and senior lateral hiring from institutional asset management (DWS/Deutsche) and carrier backgrounds (John Hancock), and is recognized by Chambers HNW for 6 consecutive years and as a 2024 Pacific Life Preston Hotchkis Award recipient. Capital Strategies is privately held and independently owned, with Managing Principal David F. Byers Jr. also serving as Chairman of the M Financial Holdings Board, indicating outsized influence relative to firm size.

Name

Capital Strategies

Legal name

Capital Strategies Group, Inc.

Website

https://capitalstrategies.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Capital Strategies Group is a privately held, tax-driven life insurance advisory firm serving ultra-high-net-worth families, substantial businesses, and large non-profits through bespoke engagements, operating as an M Financial member firm with offices in Birmingham, Nashville, and Chicago.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management and Life Insurance Advisory

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities (523991)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Finance Advisory (Strategic Finance, Capital Structure & Recaps) (FSAEAGAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory (BPAHADAB)

Keywords

• Life insurance advisory
• Wealth transfer planning
• Executive benefits planning
• Estate tax strategies
• High net worth advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Insurance Advisory and Placement Services: Capital Strategies generates revenue through advisory fees and commissions from placing insurance products for high-net-worth clients. As a member firm of M Financial Group, the firm accesses exclusive insurance products and earns compensation through the M Financial distribution network. Revenue is driven by the complexity and size of insurance policies placed for ultra-high-net-worth families and corporate clients.
2. Securities and Investment Advisory Services: Securities offered through M Holdings Securities, Inc., a registered Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. Revenue generated from securities business conducted with clients, including FINRA-licensed registered representatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Capital Strategies is a tax-driven life insurance advisory firm that designs, structures, and places bespoke insurance contracts and wealth transfer strategies for ultra-high-net-worth families, substantial businesses, and large non-profit organizations. As a shareholder member firm of M Financial Group, the firm provides clients with exclusive access to proprietary insurance products featuring preferential pricing and custom designs. The firm also delivers non-qualified executive benefit planning for highly compensated employees of for-profit and non-profit entities.

Product overview

Capital Strategies offers a unified suite of financial advisory services centered on tax-driven life insurance strategies for high-net-worth clients. The core offerings consist of Wealth Preservation Services (tax-efficient insurance strategies and contract placement) and Executive Benefits Planning (non-qualified benefit planning for executives). As a member firm of M Financial Group, Capital Strategies also provides exclusive access to M Financial's proprietary insurance products featuring preferential pricing and custom designs. These services work together to help clients minimize income and estate-tax liabilities while facilitating wealth transfer and preservation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wealth Preservation Services Tax-efficient insurance strategies and bespoke insurance contract placement services for ultra-high-net-worth families, designed to minimize income and estate-tax liabilities and provide liquidity for estate tax obligations.
• Executive Benefits Planning Tax-efficient non-qualified executive benefit planning services for for-profit and non-profit entities serving highly compensated employees, including deferred compensation, key person insurance, and buy-sell agreement funding.
• M Financial Proprietary Insurance Products Exclusive access to M Financial's proprietary, custom wealth transfer solutions and life insurance products with individualized preferred pricing, available only to M Financial member firms. Includes exclusive life and disability solutions with mortality experience 10% stronger than the HNW industry average.

Quantifiable outcome

• Mortality experience 10% stronger than HNW industry average
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Goldstein Financial Group, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 August 2022Capital Strategies merged with Goldstein Financial Group, an independent life insurance brokerage and consulting firm based in Chicago, Illinois. Allan Goldstein, Founder of GFG with four decades of experience, joined as Director of Midwest Region along with Andrea Lechner as Director of New Business and Operations. The partnership expanded Capital Strategies' presence into the Chicago market and provided succession planning for GFG clients.
• Northern TrustminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 22 April 2016Northern Trust partnered with Capital Strategies to host a dinner event at the home of Principal John Carter during the 2016 ACTEC Southern Regional Meeting, demonstrating collaborative relationship in the wealth management ecosystem.
• M Financial GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1989Capital Strategies is a shareholder Member Firm of M Financial Group, a diversified financial services organization founded in 1978 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The partnership provides exclusive access to M Financial's proprietary insurance products with individualized preferred pricing, custom designs, and dedicated oversight. M Financial has over 130 Member Firms across 37 states and the United Kingdom, offices in Portland and Dallas, and is a leader in product development, in-force management, reinsurance, and underwriting. David Byers serves as Chairman of the Board of M Financial Holdings Incorporated.
• Finseca (formerly AALU)coreOthersCapital Strategies is an active member of FINSECA (formerly Association for Advanced Life Underwriters), a 40+ year old organization that lobbies Congress for protection of life insurance products benefiting over 70 million Americans. David Byers serves on FINSECA's Executive Committee and recently met with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell through Finseca's Ambassador Program. Hudson Williams presented at the FINSECA Advanced Markets Conference in Washington, D.C.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ash Brokerage: Large independent life insurance and annuity brokerage focused on HNW producers and financial advisors, with comparable services in advanced life insurance design, executive benefits, and succession planning for ultra-affluent families.
• brokersInternational: Insurance distribution organization providing life insurance, annuities, and wealth transfer solutions through affiliated advisors, competing with Capital Strategies for HNW producers seeking carrier access and advanced case design support.
• The Planning Center: Long-standing M Financial member firm specializing in advanced life insurance solutions and executive benefits for HNW clients, with a parallel value proposition built on proprietary M Financial product access and tax-driven wealth transfer advisory.
• Highland Capital Brokerage: National life insurance brokerage serving HNW clients with sophisticated life insurance and wealth transfer strategies, competing directly with Capital Strategies in the estate planning, executive benefits, and proprietary-product advisory space.
• Lenox Advisors: M Financial member firm providing tax-driven life insurance, executive benefits, and wealth transfer strategies to high-net-worth individuals and businesses, with a comparable multi-office U.S. footprint and HNW client focus that closely mirrors Capital Strategies' model.

Broad incumbents

• Bessemer Trust: Large multi-family office serving ultra-high-net-worth families with trust, estate, and investment services; while it offers much broader capabilities than Capital Strategies, both compete for the same HNW estate planning and wealth transfer wallet.
• Glenmede: Wealth management and investment advisory firm serving HNW families, endowments, and foundations with estate planning and trust services, overlapping with Capital Strategies in the UHNW estate tax planning and wealth preservation space.

Others

• M Financial Group: Diversified financial services consortium and Capital Strategies' core strategic partner, providing the proprietary product platform and distribution network that defines the firm's competitive position; included as a peer for ecosystem context rather than direct competition.
• Pacific Life: Major life insurance carrier whose Preston Hotchkis award recognized Capital Strategies' leadership; operates upstream in the value chain as a product manufacturer, with overlapping client segments in the HNW life insurance market.

Emerging players

• Wealth Architects: HNW-focused life insurance and wealth management advisory combining advanced insurance design with broader financial planning, offering partial overlap with Capital Strategies' tax-driven insurance specialization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/capital-strategies-group-inc.

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&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Capital Strategies