Speer Financial

What Speer Financial does

Speer Financial, Inc. is an employee-owned, SEC- and MSRB-regulated municipal advisory firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with a satellite office in Waterloo, Iowa. Founded in 1954 as Paul D. Speer & Associates, the firm has operated under employee ownership since a 1981 management buyout from Duff & Phelps. The firm provides debt advisory and financial planning services exclusively to governmental entities — municipalities, counties, school districts, park districts, forest preserve districts, and special service areas — across Illinois and Iowa.

The firm's technology core consists of two proprietary web-based auction platforms: SpeerAuction.com (launched 1999, among the first electronic competitive bidding platforms in the Midwest) and SpeerBids.com, which together support competitive, negotiated, and term sheet bond sales with real-time bidder rank visibility. Service delivery is organized into three phases: Planning Services (long-term debt planning, debt capacity and refunding analysis), Issuance Services (offering document preparation, rating agency coordination, sale facilitation), and Post-Issuance Services (continuing disclosure, compliance, tax analysis). The firm has participated in over 4,000 municipal securities issuances totaling over $22 billion in par amount since 1996.

Commercially, Speer Financial generates revenue through professional advisory fees billed to governmental clients under multi-year engagements, with pricing not publicly disclosed. The firm operates a direct, relationship-driven go-to-market motion, relying on professional organization memberships (18+ bodies), industry speaking engagements, and word-of-mouth referrals within the government finance community. The firm's explicit independence — it does not underwrite, purchase, or sell bonds and has no affiliation with banks or underwriters — is positioned as the primary differentiator versus bank-affiliated advisors.

Name

Speer Financial

Legal name

Speer Financial, Inc.

Website

https://speerfinancial.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Speer Financial is an employee-owned, SEC-regulated municipal advisory firm founded in 1954 that provides independent debt advisory and financial planning services exclusively to governmental entities across Illinois and Iowa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Municipal Advisory Services: Professional advisory fees for debt planning, debt issuance management, and related financial planning services provided to governmental entities. Services include long-term debt planning, debt capacity analysis, refunding analysis, offering document preparation, bond sale facilitation, and post-issuance compliance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Speer Financial is an independent municipal advisory firm providing debt advisory and related financial planning services exclusively to governmental entities. Services span planning (long-term debt planning, debt capacity and refunding analysis), issuance (sale method recommendation, offering document preparation, rating agency coordination, bond sale facilitation), and post-issuance compliance (continuing disclosure, credit rating strategy, tax impact analysis). The firm also operates proprietary web-based auction platforms (SpeerAuction.com and SpeerBids.com) that enable competitive bidding for municipal securities with real-time bidder rank transparency.

Product overview

Speer Financial offers a unified municipal advisory service platform centered on debt advisory and financial planning for governmental entities. The core technology products are SpeerAuction.com and SpeerBids.com — two proprietary web-based auction platforms that enable competitive bidding processes for municipal bond sales, featuring real-time bidder ranking for transparency. These platforms are complemented by three service modules: Competitive Official Statement Sales Calendar, Negotiated Official Statement Sales Calendar, and Term Sheet Sales Calendar, which manage the scheduling and tracking of different bond sale types. The service offering is structured around three operational phases — Planning Services (long-term debt planning, debt capacity analysis, refunding analysis), Issuance Services (debt issuance management, offering document preparation, rating agency coordination), and Post-Issuance Services (continuing disclosure, compliance, tax analysis) — all delivered by independent advisors without underwriting or selling bonds. The company has participated in over 4,000 municipal securities issuances totaling over $22 billion in par amount since 1996.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SpeerAuction.com Web-based auction platform for competitive municipal bond sales, allowing bidders to view their rank in real time during open auctions to increase transparency in the municipal securities sales process.
• SpeerBids.com Web-based bidding platform for term sheet sales, enabling competitive bidding processes for municipal bond issuances.
• Planning Services Debt advisory services including long-term debt planning, debt capacity analysis, refunding analysis, review of financing options, and on-demand debt schedules and borrowing analysis for governmental entities.
• Issuance Services Comprehensive debt issuance management including review of debt structure and alternatives, recommendation of sale method (competitive, negotiated or private placement), offering document preparation and distribution, timeline management, rating agency coordination, and facilitation of bond sale and closing processes.
• Post-Issuance Services Ongoing support services including continuing disclosure filing, credit rating strategy and assistance, debt-related compliance assistance, tax impact analysis, and special reports for municipal bond issuers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 4,000 municipal securities issuances participated in since 1996
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Association of Municipal Advisors (NAMA)coreOthers · 1 January 1954Speer Financial is a charter member of the National Association of Municipal Advisors, an industry coalition seeking to develop and promote ethical and professional standards for municipal advisory firms and their employees.
• Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)minorOthersProfessional organization membership supporting government finance professionals
• Illinois Government Finance Officers AssociationminorOthersState-level professional organization membership for Illinois government finance officers
• Iowa Municipal Finance Officers AssociationminorOthersState-level professional organization membership for Iowa municipal finance officers
• Illinois Municipal LeagueminorOthersProfessional organization membership for Illinois municipalities
• Iowa League of CitiesminorOthersProfessional organization membership for Iowa cities
• DuPage County Public Works DepartmentminorOthersPrior employer of team member Aaron Gold before joining Speer Financial

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Hilltop Securities: Large broker-dealer and investment bank with a substantial public finance and municipal advisory practice. Overlaps with Speer in serving municipalities and school districts but operates at much greater scale across many states.
• Stifel Financial Corp. Full-service broker-dealer with a public finance group advising and underwriting municipal bond issues for state and local government issuers. A much larger incumbent competing for the same municipal advisory engagements as Speer.
• Piper Sandler Companies: Mid-market focused investment bank with a public finance and municipal underwriting/advisory practice. Comparable in that it competes for the same municipal bond issuance mandates, though it also underwrites securities.

Direct peers

• Springsted Incorporated: Public-sector financial advisory firm specializing in municipal debt planning, issuance management, and financial planning for cities, counties, school districts and authorities. Direct peer in independent municipal advisory services.
• Acacia Financial Group: Independent registered municipal advisor providing debt issuance and financial advisory services exclusively to public-sector clients. Closely mirrors Speer's independent-advice-only model and SEC/MSRB registered municipal advisor positioning.
• Ehlers and Associates: Midwest-based independent municipal advisory and financial planning firm serving cities, villages, school districts, and counties. Closely comparable business model and regional focus to Speer, with overlap in Illinois and Wisconsin municipal clients.
• PFM Group (PFM Financial Advisors): One of the largest independent financial advisory firms focused on state and local government clients, providing debt advisory, investment advisory, and financial planning services much like Speer. PFM is a direct peer in independent municipal advisory for public-sector issuers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/speer-financial-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Speer Financial