PJS Investment Management

What PJS Investment Management does

PJS Investment Management is a fee-only independent registered investment adviser (RIA) founded in 1981 by Philip J. Schmidt and headquartered in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. The firm provides professional investment management alongside holistic financial planning services to individuals and families across the United States. Core service offerings include investment management (purpose-driven, customized tactical portfolio construction using stocks, ETFs, and institutional bond funds), comprehensive financial planning covering retirement, estate, tax, insurance, and education planning, plus life transition assistance for events such as inheritance, business sale, divorce, and retirement. The firm employs the PJS Prosperity Roadmap as a proprietary visual methodology for structuring client engagements.

The business operates exclusively on a fee-only basis, compensated as a percentage of assets under management with no product commissions, aligning interests with clients and reducing conflicts of interest. Client assets are custodied at Fidelity, providing independent custody and online account access. The firm's distribution is entirely direct: clients are acquired through referrals, personal relationships, community engagement, educational content, and events in the Cedarburg/Wisconsin market, while serving clients nationally from a single office. The marketing mix relies on a content-driven Resource Center (articles, calculators, videos), recurring community events including the Summer Soirée and Summer Sounds concert series, and educational forums.

The team of approximately 15 includes credentialed professionals holding CFA, CFP, CIMA, AEP, and AAMS designations, led by President and CIO Patrick N. Sommerfield and Executive Vice-President Jason S. Lacey. The firm uses standard third-party financial planning and research tools rather than proprietary technology platforms, and discloses no AI/ML capabilities. Revenue is generated solely through AUM-based fees billed annually; specific fee schedules, AUM figures, and financial performance are not publicly disclosed.

Name

PJS Investment Management

Legal name

PJS Investment Management

Website

https://pjsinvestment.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PJS Investment Management is a fee-only independent RIA founded in 1981, based in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, providing investment management and holistic financial planning to individual investors and families nationwide, compensated solely by AUM-based fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Discretionary Portfolio Management (DPM) (FSAAABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Personal Financial Management & Budgeting (PFM) (FSAGAAAH)

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Investment advisory
• Financial planning
• Portfolio management
• Fiduciary advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Cedarburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fee-Only Asset Under Management (AUM) Fees: PJS Investment Management operates on a fee-only basis, compensated exclusively by fees determined as a percentage of assets under management. This model aligns the firm's interests with clients and eliminates conflicts of interest from product commissions. The fee structure is transparent and based solely on AUM, with no commissions on investment products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PJS Investment Management is an independent, fee-only registered investment adviser that provides tailored investment management and holistic financial planning services. Their core offerings center on customized tactical portfolio construction combined with comprehensive wealth planning across investment, retirement, estate, tax, insurance, and education domains. The firm serves individual investors and families nationwide from its Cedarburg, Wisconsin headquarters, using the proprietary PJS Prosperity Roadmap as its client engagement framework.

Product overview

PJS Investment Management offers a comprehensive wealth management platform centered on two core services: Investment Management and Holistic Financial Planning. The firm provides investment management through a purpose-driven, customized tactical approach tailored to each client's goals and risk tolerance, utilizing cost-efficient securities such as stocks, ETFs, and institutional bond funds. The Holistic Financial Planning service covers the full financial picture including tax planning, estate planning, insurance assessment, life transition assistance, and education planning. The firm also employs the Prosperity Roadmap methodology as a visual guide through the wealth planning process. Supporting services include tax-loss harvesting, retirement planning, and behavioral finance advisory.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investment Management
• Holistic Financial Planning
• Prosperity Roadmap

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• FidelitycoreTechnology or IntegrationFidelity serves as the primary custodian for PJS Investment Management client assets. Clients utilize Fidelity's platform for trading, research, news, and asset custody. PJS Investment Management clients can access their portfolios online at any time through Fidelity's platform. This custodial relationship provides independence and security for client assets.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Empower (formerly Personal Capital): Digital-first wealth manager combining robo-advisor portfolios with human advisors for high-net-worth clients. Competes with boutique fee-only RIAs like PJS on fee structure and holistic planning for mass-affluent and HNW individuals.
• Fisher Investments: Large fee-only investment adviser primarily serving high-net-worth individuals and institutions with discretionary portfolio management. Overlapping AUM-based fiduciary model and client type, but with a more centralized, scale-driven investment process.
• Vanguard Personal Advisor Services: Vanguard's hybrid advisory service combining human advisors with algorithmic portfolio management, charging a tiered AUM-based fee. Competes directly with fee-only RIAs like PJS for individual investor relationships at lower fee points.
• Charles Schwab Investment Advisory (Schwab Wealth Advisory): Schwab's fee-based discretionary wealth advisory service offering portfolio management and financial planning to retail investors. Same AUM-fee pricing model as PJS and a key competitor for individual advisory households.

Direct peers

• Mercer Advisors: National fee-only RIA delivering wealth management, tax, estate, and financial planning services. Highly comparable service portfolio and client targeting to PJS, though Mercer is significantly larger and consolidator-driven.
• Edelman Financial Engines: One of the largest independent RIAs in the U.S., combining fee-only investment advisory with comprehensive financial planning for individuals. Same fiduciary, AUM-based fee model and holistic planning positioning as PJS.
• Carson Group: RIA platform serving independent financial advisors and their clients with investment management, financial planning, and practice management support. Operates in the same fee-only RIA and wealth management space as PJS.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Fee-only RIA providing investment management, financial planning, tax, and estate services to high-net-worth individuals and families. Directly comparable service mix and client base, with an explicit focus on holistic planning similar to PJS's offering.
• Creative Planning: Large U.S. fee-only RIA offering comprehensive wealth management, financial planning, and investment management to individuals and families. Highly comparable business model, fee structure, and service breadth to PJS, though at much greater scale.

Emerging players

• Facet Wealth: Tech-enabled, fee-only RIA offering financial planning and investment management to a national mass-affluent client base. Same fiduciary, AUM-based model as PJS but with a digital-first delivery model that competes for the same individual-investor segment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/PJS-Investment-Management-496137917156472

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 PJS Investment Management