Claris Advisors
Claris Advisors is a fee-only, fiduciary Registered Investment Advisor in St. Louis providing evidence-based wealth management, retirement planning, and risk management to high-net-worth individuals, families, businesses, institutions, and retirement-plan sponsors, managing $1 billion in AUM.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersSt Louis, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Claris Advisors does
Claris Advisors is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor founded in 1998 and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The firm delivers fiduciary wealth management, retirement planning, fixed-income, and risk-management services to individuals, families, businesses, institutions, and retirement-plan sponsors. Its core service, Fiduciary Wealth and Risk Management, is organized into three phases: Design (integrated financial planning using probability-analysis software), Build (evidence-based portfolio construction drawing on Dimensional Fund Advisors strategies for globally diversified, tax-efficient portfolios), and Protect (insurance evaluation across life, disability, long-term care, and property & casualty). A separate practice line provides business succession planning, group retirement and insurance plans (3(21)/3(38) fiduciary services for 401(k) and defined benefit plans), and charitable endowment management.
The firm's underlying technology stack is modest but purpose-built. Investment methodology follows a documented five-step process and uses DFA's research-driven fund universe. A proprietary tax-management tool, developed in partnership with Washington University Olin Business School's Center for Finance and Accounting Research, quantifies the dollar impact of tax-loss harvesting and dividend/capital-gain avoidance for clients. Custodial relationships are maintained with the institutional divisions of Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, and TD Ameritrade, with client-account access through an Orion Advisor portal.
Claris generates revenue from advisory fees charged as a percentage of assets under management; the firm does not earn commissions on investment products. The firm reached $1B in AUM on December 10, 2025 and served approximately 280 clients as of October 2021, implying an average client relationship in the multi-million-dollar range. Distribution is relationship-driven, supported by content marketing (Smarter Investor Blog, Conversations with Claris video series, YouTube channel, Claris Insights newsletter) and operational outsourcing to Buckingham Strategic Partners (of which Claris is a founding member). Strategic partnerships with Dimensional Fund Advisors and Anders CPAs + Advisors extend the firm's capability set without proportional headcount growth.
Claris Advisors firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Claris Advisors
- Legal name
- Claris Advisors, LLC
- Website
- https://claris-advisors.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Claris Advisors is a fee-only, fiduciary Registered Investment Advisor in St. Louis providing evidence-based wealth management, retirement planning, and risk management to high-net-worth individuals, families, businesses, institutions, and retirement-plan sponsors, managing $1 billion in AUM.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Claris Advisors industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wealth Management
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities (523991)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fee-Only Advisory (FSAEAAAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Financial Planning–Led RIAs (FSAAACAB), Institutional Consulting RIAs (OCIO/Endowments/Foundations/Pensions) (FSAAACAG), Institutional Consultants & Fiduciary Management (Investment Consulting) (FSAAAGAJ)
Keywords
Where Claris Advisors is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- St Louis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Claris Advisors business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Advisory Fee Revenue: Claris Advisors operates as a fee-only registered investment advisor providing fiduciary wealth management services. They do not receive commissions of any kind for their investment management services, eliminating conflicts of interest and ensuring objective advice.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Claris Advisors product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Claris Advisors is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor that provides fiduciary wealth management, investment management, and retirement planning services. The firm delivers evidence-based passive investment strategies grounded in academic research (via Dimensional Fund Advisors) across a three-phase process: Design (financial planning with probability analysis), Build (portfolio construction), and Protect (insurance evaluation). Services are offered to individuals and families, as well as businesses, institutions, and retirement plan sponsors.
Product overview
Claris Advisors is a Registered Investment Advisor offering a unified wealth management platform centered on fiduciary services. The core offering is Fiduciary Wealth and Risk Management with three integrated phases: Design (financial planning with probability analysis), Build (evidence-based portfolio construction using Dimensional Fund Advisors strategies), and Protect (insurance evaluation across life, disability, long-term care, and property & casualty). For business clients, the firm provides Business Succession Planning and Risk Management, Group Retirement and Insurance Plans (401(k), defined benefit, health/life/disability/cyber insurance), and Charitable Endowments and Foundations management. Educational resources include the Smarter Investor Blog and Conversations with Claris video series. A proprietary tax management tool was developed with Washington University's CFAR to demonstrate tax-efficiency value to clients.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Fiduciary Wealth and Risk Management Comprehensive fiduciary wealth management service for individuals and families that integrates financial planning, portfolio construction, and insurance evaluation (life, disability, long-term care, property & casualty).
- Business Succession Planning and Risk Management Strategic succession and risk management advisory for business owners, developed jointly with Anders CPAs + Advisors, covering ownership transition, business wealth realization, and contingency planning.
- Group Retirement and Insurance Plans Retirement plan management for plan sponsors, providing 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciary services for 401(k) and defined benefit plans, with supplemental insurance advisory across health, life, disability, and cyber coverage.
- Charitable Endowments and Foundations Management Institutional investment management for not-for-profit organizations, including Investment Policy Statement development and portfolio construction using low-cost institutional asset managers.
Quantifiable outcome
- $1 billion in assets under management milestone reached December 10, 2025
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Claris Advisors
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Claris Advisors technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Claris Advisors partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Buckingham Strategic PartnerscoreAs one of its founding members, Claris outsources a large portion of daily operational functions to Buckingham Strategic Partners, allowing focus on clients. BSP is one of the largest TAMPs in the world, serving over 1,000 advisors who collectively manage or administer $37 billion in client assets (as of 03/31/2023).
- Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA)coreDFA provides evidence-based investment strategies drawing information about expected returns from the market itself. Claris works with DFA to deliver premium client service using DFA's research, portfolio design and management capabilities.
- Buckingham Retirement SolutionsminorPartnership focused on delivering fiduciary protection, transparency, simplicity and relevant education to help increase retirement readiness of employees for business clients.
- Brokerage Unlimited Incorporated (BUI)minorHelps clients protect against unexpected financial losses, smoothly transfer wealth, and meet business or contractual obligations through coordinated risk management within overall wealth strategy.
- Washington University Olin Business School - Center for Finance and Accounting Research (CFAR)coreGraduate students from finance, fintech, and accounting developed proprietary tax management software for Claris clients. This was a practicum project where graduate students worked on a real-world wealth management project, creating a customized tool to evaluate tax management moves and show real-world dollar impact.
- Anders CPAs + AdvisorscoreAffiliate relationship providing coordinated tax and investment advice. Partnership allows clients lower-cost, tax-managed and globally allocated portfolios aligned with goals and objectives. Joint efforts include business succession planning and family wealth management for aging clients.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Claris Advisors competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Buckingham Strategic Partners: TAMP and RIA support organization of which Claris is a founding member; Buckingham serves over 1,000 advisors with ~$37B in client assets. Operates an evidence-based, DFA-aligned investment model very similar to Claris and competes for the same advisor-client relationships.
- Carson Wealth: Growing RIA platform supporting independent advisors with fee-only wealth management, retirement plan, and institutional services. Comparable size and growth-stage profile to Claris, with similar advisor-aligned fiduciary model and emphasis on evidence-based investing.
Broad incumbents
- Creative Planning: One of the largest independent RIAs in the U.S., offering comprehensive fee-only wealth management, retirement planning, and tax services nationally. Comparable to Claris in fiduciary, fee-only orientation but vastly larger in AUM, headcount, and geographic reach.
- Focus Financial Partners: RIA aggregator and partnership platform serving hundreds of independent wealth management firms. Competes for similar HNW clients and partner-firms, though at much larger scale; represents a potential strategic acquirer or exit path for a $1B AUM firm like Claris.
- Edelman Financial Engines: Large national RIA offering fee-only wealth management, retirement plan services, and institutional advice. Directly comparable in fiduciary fee-only model and evidence-based investment approach, but with materially greater scale and brand recognition.
- Mercer Advisors: National RIA providing wealth management, retirement plan, and institutional services including endowments and foundations. Competes head-to-head for the institutional and HNW segments that Claris serves, but at national scale across multiple U.S. markets.
- Fisher Investments: Large independent investment management firm serving HNW individuals, institutions, and pensions. Less directly comparable in business model (active management vs. Claris's passive/evidence-based approach) but competes for the same HNW client segment.
- Charles Schwab Wealth Advisory: Schwab's fee-based advisory service that competes for the same HNW and retirement-plan clients, while also serving as one of Claris's custodians. Represents both a competitor and infrastructure provider.
- Vanguard Personal Advisor Services: Vanguard's hybrid robo-plus-advisor service offering low-cost, evidence-based wealth management. Competes with Claris on the same evidence-based investment philosophy and fiduciary promise but at much lower price points and broader digital reach.
Others
- Dimensional Fund Advisors: Investment manager whose evidence-based strategies Claris uses as its core portfolio construction engine. Not a direct competitor but a strategic partner whose product set, pricing, and distribution policies directly shape Claris's investment offering.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Claris Advisors social profiles
Digital presenceClaris Advisors financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Claris Advisors leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Claris Advisors funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Claris Advisors 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 Claris Advisors
What does Claris Advisors do?
Claris Advisors is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor that provides fiduciary wealth management, investment management, and retirement planning services. The firm delivers evidence-based passive investment strategies grounded in academic research (via Dimensional Fund Advisors) across a three-phase process: Design (financial planning with probability analysis), Build (portfolio construction), and Protect (insurance evaluation). Services are offered to individuals and families, as well as businesses, institutions, and retirement plan sponsors.
Is Claris Advisors a public or private company?
Claris Advisors is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Claris Advisors founded?
Claris Advisors was founded in 1998. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Claris Advisors based?
Claris Advisors is headquartered in St Louis, United States, in the North America region.
How does Claris Advisors make money?
One revenue line is on record: advisory Fee Revenue.
Who are Claris Advisors's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Buckingham Strategic Partners and Carson Wealth. Broad incumbents are Creative Planning, Focus Financial Partners, Edelman Financial Engines, Mercer Advisors, Fisher Investments, Charles Schwab Wealth Advisory and Vanguard Personal Advisor Services. Dimensional Fund Advisors is listed as an others.
Does Claris Advisors have an API?
No public API is recorded for Claris Advisors.
What industry is Claris Advisors in?
Claris Advisors's product category is Wealth Management. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAEAAAL, Fee-Only Advisory, with a secondary code of FSAAACAB, Financial Planning–Led RIAs. Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.