Trott Brook Financial
Trott Brook Financial is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor in Anoka, Minnesota providing retirement planning, Social Security optimization, tax planning, and investment management to individuals aged 50 and older across 20 states.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersAnoka, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Trott Brook Financial does
Trott Brook Financial is a privately held, fee-only Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) founded in 2002 by Jim and Lisa Steffen and headquartered in Anoka, Minnesota. The firm provides integrated retirement-focused financial advisory services to individuals and couples aged 50 and older, targeting households with roughly $1-5 million in investable assets across Minnesota and 19 additional states via remote delivery. Its service offering is built around four coordinated areas: Retirement Planning, Social Security Timing, Tax Planning, and Investment Management, supported by a complimentary Retirement Assessment funnel entry point.
The firm operates with a deliberately small team of approximately three to four people, including the founder (CEO, CFP), an Operations Manager, and a Financial Planning Assistant hired in February 2025. It runs no proprietary technology stack; instead it composes best-of-breed third-party platforms: Fidelity for custody, eMoney for financial planning and scenario modeling, and YHL Soft for the client portal. A long-running content marketing sub-brand, UNCUT Outdoors, has produced more than 108 video episodes since April 2020 and serves as the primary top-of-funnel demand generation channel, complemented by client referrals.
Trott Brook Financial generates revenue primarily through AUM-based advisory fees ranging from 0.60% to 1.40% of assets (lower percentages at larger portfolio sizes, charged annually), supplemented by fixed-fee financial planning engagements. The firm is bootstrapped, founder-owned, and has no external institutional investors, funding rounds, or M&A history. Growth is driven by referral and content marketing rather than aggressive sales tactics, and the firm is positioning for generational continuity through the recent hiring of the founders' son.
Trott Brook Financial firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Trott Brook Financial
- Legal name
- Trott Brook Financial, Inc.
- Website
- https://trottbrook.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Trott Brook Financial is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor in Anoka, Minnesota providing retirement planning, Social Security optimization, tax planning, and investment management to individuals aged 50 and older across 20 states.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Trott Brook Financial industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Financial Advisory Services
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Financial Planning–Led RIAs (FSAAACAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Wealth Management (FSAEABAA), Retirement & Distribution Planning RIAs (401(k)/IRA/Pension Rollovers) (FSAAACAE)
Keywords
Where Trott Brook Financial is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Anoka
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Trott Brook Financial business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- AUM-Based Advisory Fees: Percentage of assets under management charged as annual advisory fee. Lower percentages applied to larger portfolios, creating economies of scale for clients.
- Fixed-Fee Financial Planning: One-time or project-based financial planning services at fixed fee rates, complementing ongoing advisory relationships.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | AUM-Based Fee: 0.60% – 1.40% of assets under management |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
Trott Brook Financial product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Trott Brook Financial is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) firm that delivers retirement-focused financial planning and investment management services to individuals and couples over age 50. The firm offers four integrated service areas—Retirement Planning, Social Security Timing, Tax Planning, and Investment Management—delivered on a fee basis (0.60%–1.40% of assets under management), along with a complimentary Retirement Assessment and fixed-fee financial planning engagements.
Product overview
Trott Brook Financial is a Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) firm offering a unified suite of retirement-focused financial planning services. The core offering consists of four integrated service areas: Retirement Planning (coordinating financial elements for sustainable income), Social Security Timing (optimizing benefit collection timing), Tax Planning (minimizing tax burden in retirement), and Investment Management (portfolio alignment with retirement strategy). The firm also offers a complimentary Retirement Assessment to evaluate client situations, and operates UNCUT Outdoors, a video blog content series for financial education. Services are delivered on a fee basis (0.60%-1.40%) with fixed-fee financial planning also available.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- UNCUT Outdoors: Video blog series created by founder Jim Steffen where he delivers timely messages to clients from various outdoor locations. The series has produced over 100 videos since its launch in April 2020.
Products and services
- Retirement Planning Comprehensive retirement planning service that helps clients determine optimal retirement timing, identify key risks, and create sustainable income strategies. Coordinates interrelated financial elements including investments, Social Security, and tax considerations. Targeted at individuals and couples over age 50.
- Social Security Timing Social Security optimization service that helps determine the optimal time to collect benefits and coordinate benefits between spouses, considering factors like breakeven analysis, marital status, health, and taxation. Intended for pre-retirees and retirees.
- Tax Planning Tax minimization service for retirees including Roth conversion strategies, capital gains optimization in low tax brackets, charitable giving strategies, and coordination of income timing to minimize taxes. Targeted at retirees and pre-retirees.
- Investment Management Strategic investment management service that aligns portfolios with retirement plans, including account mix optimization, bear market protection strategies, tax-loss harvesting, and ongoing rebalancing using institutional investment approaches. Targeted at retirees and pre-retirees with investable assets.
- Retirement Assessment Complimentary retirement assessment service that identifies income strategies, tax minimization opportunities, and coordinated investment strategies through a structured three-step process including initial call, fact gathering, and assessment review. Aimed at prospective clients evaluating the firm.
Companies that use Trott Brook Financial
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Trott Brook Financial technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Trott Brook Financial partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- FidelitycoreFidelity serves as the primary custodian for client assets. All client investments are held through Fidelity's brokerage platform, providing institutional-grade custody, reporting, and trade execution.
- eMoneycoreeMoney is used as the financial planning software platform for creating and maintaining comprehensive financial plans for clients, including retirement projections and scenario analysis.
- YHL SoftcoreYHL Soft provides the client portal technology used by the firm to deliver account access, document sharing, and ongoing communication with clients.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Trott Brook Financial competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Betterment: One of the largest independent digital wealth managers in the U.S. ($50B+ AUM) offering automated retirement portfolios and goal-based planning at 0.25%-0.40% AUM. Targets the same retirement-saver persona as Trott Brook but competes on price and digital convenience rather than personalized planning-led advice.
- Facet Wealth: Tech-enabled RIA offering flat-fee financial planning and investment management to mass-affluent clients nationally. Directly competes for Trott Brook's target persona (50+ retirees with $1M+ portfolios) but delivers advice through a virtual, salaried-advisor model rather than local in-person relationships.
Broad incumbents
- Personal Capital (Empower): Hybrid digital RIA acquired by Empower Retirement in 2020, serving affluent and retirement-age clients with combined robo-advisory tools and human advisors. Comparable to Trott Brook's target market ($1M+ investable assets, planning-led service) but with proprietary technology and significantly lower fees (~0.49%-0.89% AUM).
- Fisher Investments: Large RIA ($200B+ AUM) specializing in personalized investment management for high-net-worth and institutional clients. Comparable in target market (retirees with $1M+ portfolios) and fee-based RIA structure, but operates a discretionary investment management model rather than a planning-led one.
- Carson Group: Large RIA and broker-dealer network ($40B+ AUM) providing practice management, technology, and back-office support to independent advisors serving retirement-age clients. Comparable in target market (50+ retirees needing comprehensive planning) but operates a partnership-network model rather than a single firm.
- Cetera Financial Group: Large IBD and RIA network ($450B+ AUM) with significant retirement-income planning orientation across affiliated independent advisors. Directly comparable to Trott Brook's retirement-focused, fee-based advisory offering, but at much greater scale and through a multi-firm affiliation model.
- Mariner Wealth Advisors: National RIA with $100B+ AUM providing integrated wealth, tax, estate, and retirement planning for high-net-worth individuals. Competes for the same affluent-retiree persona and follows a comparable acquisition-led growth strategy that aggregates small independent RIAs.
- Creative Planning: One of the largest independent RIAs in the U.S. ($300B+ AUM), offering comprehensive retirement, tax, estate, and investment planning for high-net-worth clients. Same fiduciary, fee-based, planning-led model as Trott Brook but operating across all 50 states with hundreds of advisors and full proprietary technology investments.
- Edelman Financial Engines: Largest independent RIA in the U.S., formed by the 2018 merger of Edelman Financial Services and Financial Engines. Focused squarely on retirement planning for mass-affluent and high-net-worth households with $200K+ portfolios—directly comparable to Trott Brook's persona and planning-led approach, but at vastly larger scale (~$400B AUM, hundreds of advisors).
- Charles Schwab Wealth Advisory: Schwab's own RIA service using Schwab Intelligent Portfolios technology plus access to CFP® professionals, targeting affluent retirement savers at 0.50%-0.80% AUM. Directly competes for Trott Brook's customer base with the advantage of brand recognition, technology, and integration with Schwab custody services.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Trott Brook Financial social profiles
Digital presenceTrott Brook Financial financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Trott Brook Financial leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Trott Brook Financial funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Trott Brook Financial M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Trott Brook Financial
What does Trott Brook Financial do?
Trott Brook Financial is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) firm that delivers retirement-focused financial planning and investment management services to individuals and couples over age 50. The firm offers four integrated service areas—Retirement Planning, Social Security Timing, Tax Planning, and Investment Management—delivered on a fee basis (0.60%–1.40% of assets under management), along with a complimentary Retirement Assessment and fixed-fee financial planning engagements.
Is Trott Brook Financial a public or private company?
Trott Brook Financial is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Trott Brook Financial founded?
Trott Brook Financial was founded in 2002. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Trott Brook Financial based?
Trott Brook Financial is headquartered in Anoka, United States, in the North America region.
How does Trott Brook Financial make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. AUM-Based Advisory Fees are the primary driver. The others are fixed-Fee Financial Planning.
Who are Trott Brook Financial's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Betterment and Facet Wealth. Broad incumbents are Personal Capital (Empower), Fisher Investments, Carson Group, Cetera Financial Group, Mariner Wealth Advisors, Creative Planning, Edelman Financial Engines and Charles Schwab Wealth Advisory.
Does Trott Brook Financial have an API?
No public API is recorded for Trott Brook Financial.
What industry is Trott Brook Financial in?
Trott Brook Financial's product category is Financial Advisory Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAAACAB, Financial Planning–Led RIAs, with a secondary code of FSAEABAA, Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Wealth Management. Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.