Pilot Wealth Management

What Pilot Wealth Management does

Pilot Wealth Management is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor headquartered in Portland, Oregon, founded in 2011 by Jason Lesh and operated alongside Portfolio Manager Nick Fisher. The firm provides fiduciary wealth management, financial planning, tax/estate planning coordination, and portfolio management services to families and business owners, with a stated philosophy of acting without commissions or conflicts of interest. It is licensed with the State of Oregon and serves clients on a direct, relationship-based basis, with client assets custodied at Charles Schwab.

The firm's core technology stack is built on third-party, best-of-breed fintech infrastructure rather than proprietary platforms: Black Diamond Reporting for consolidated portfolio performance, allocation, and transaction reporting; and EMA (emaplan) for financial planning, net-worth tracking, and the firm's branded "Pilot Navigator" client-facing planning tool. Investment management is delivered through a proprietary 40/20/20/20 asset allocation framework (global equities / commodities / gold / bonds & cash) and a "2D vs 3D Economy" analytical lens that distinguishes the digital/software economy from the physical/commodity economy, both used to inform thematic positioning across value, commodities, and gold holdings.

Pilot generates revenue primarily through recurring asset-based advisory fees on assets under management, with the firm self-positioning its typical fee-only RIA cost structure at approximately 1.25% per year (1.0% advisory + 0.25% brokerage/admin), compared to typical broker/advisor models at approximately 2.2%. The firm does not publicly disclose a fee schedule, AUM, or revenue figures. Go-to-market is overwhelmingly content-led: a long-running "Strategy & Wisdom" editorial platform of quarterly Navigating Markets commentaries and Pilot's Log posts, supplemented by email newsletter capture, occasional in-person Leadership & Economic Summits, webinars, community partnerships (notably Young Entrepreneurs Business Week), and a referral-driven bottom-of-funnel. Customer segments are not formally delineated, and no logos, case studies, or named client references are publicly disclosed.

Name

Pilot Wealth Management

Legal name

Pilot Wealth Management

Website

https://pilotwm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pilot Wealth Management is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor in Portland, Oregon, founded in 2011 by Jason Lesh, providing fiduciary wealth management, financial planning, and value-investing portfolio management to families and business owners using a proprietary 40/20/20/20 allocation framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management Advisory 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 (Retail) (FSAAAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Advisory Portfolio Management (Non-Discretionary) (FSAAABAD), Capital Raising Advisory (Debt/Equity/Private Capital) (BPAHADAG)

Keywords

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

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fee-Only Asset-Based Advisory Fee: Recurring asset-based advisory fee on assets under management (AUM). Per the firm's 2011 commentary, typical fee-only RIA structure is ~1.0% advisory fee plus ~0.25% brokerage/admin = ~1.25% total — substantially lower than broker/advisor model charging 1.0% advisory + 0.2% brokerage + 1.0% manager fee = 2.2%. No commissions, no conflicts.
2. Financial Planning & Wealth Advisory Services: Ongoing fiduciary wealth management, financial planning, tax planning coordination (e.g., OBBBA analysis), and estate/legacy planning delivered to families and business owners. Bundled into the advisory relationship.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Pilot Wealth Management is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor providing fiduciary wealth management, portfolio management, and financial planning services to families and business owners. The firm applies a value-investing philosophy and a proprietary non-traditional 40/20/20/20 asset allocation model (global equities, commodities, gold, bonds/cash), and delivers ongoing tax and estate planning alongside consolidated client reporting through Black Diamond and the Pilot Navigator planning portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pilot's Log: Frequent, candid written commentary series (revived in 2024) on markets, investing, decision-making, culture, and the firm's investment philosophy.
• pilot navigator

Products and services

• Fiduciary Wealth Management Ongoing fiduciary wealth management delivered to families and business owners, including portfolio management, financial planning, tax planning coordination, and estate/legacy planning. Delivered on a fee-only basis with no commissions or product-sales conflicts.
• 40/20/20/20 Portfolio Management Proprietary asset allocation and portfolio management service applying the firm's 40/20/20/20 framework (global equities, commodities, gold, bonds/cash) in place of the conventional 60/40 portfolio, designed to address inflation, fiscal dominance, and dollar-devaluation risks.
• Pilot Navigator Branded client financial planning and personal financial management tool (EMA-powered) that lets Pilot Wealth Management clients track savings, spending, investment growth, and net worth over time to navigate their full financial picture.
• Black Diamond Client Reporting Portal Client reporting portal providing Pilot Wealth Management clients a consolidated view of all investment accounts, performance, allocation, and transactions through Black Diamond.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Wealthfront: Leading automated investment platform offering low-fee portfolio management and financial planning to mass-affluent and HNW clients. Adjacent competitor to Pilot for cost-sensitive HNW clients who are willing to accept a digital-only fiduciary relationship instead of a boutique advisor.
• Carson Group: RIA support platform providing coaching, technology, and back-office services to independent financial advisors serving HNW families and business owners. Comparable target customer and business-owner focus; while not a direct competitor, it represents the kind of scaled RIA platform Pilot could either partner with or be displaced by.

Direct peers

• Facet Wealth: Tech-enabled fee-only RIA offering flat-fee fiduciary financial planning and investment management to mass-affluent and HNW clients nationwide. Direct peer to Pilot in the fee-only fiduciary segment, with a digital-first delivery model that competes for the same value-conscious HNW families.
• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: National fee-only RIA providing fiduciary wealth management and financial planning to individuals and families using evidence-based and active strategies. Direct peer to Pilot: same fee-only fiduciary model, similar HNW/family-officer positioning, similar custody at Schwab/TD.

Broad incumbents

• Empower (formerly Personal Capital): Hybrid digital RIA combining free financial tools with paid wealth management and fiduciary advice to HNW clients. Comparable to Pilot's fee-only RIA + planning-tech positioning, but with a much larger client base, mobile-first technology, and broader investment menu.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Largest independent RIA in the U.S., serving millions of households with fee-based financial planning and investment management. Broad incumbent competing for the same HNW family and business-owner segment Pilot targets, with significantly greater scale, technology, and brand.
• Creative Planning: Large national fee-only RIA providing wealth management, tax, estate, and retirement planning to HNW individuals and business owners. Direct overlap with Pilot's target customer (families and business owners) and same fiduciary fee-only model, but at substantially larger scale and broader service offering.
• Charles Schwab Wealth Advisory: Schwab's in-house advisory solution that leverages the same Schwab custody relationship Pilot's clients use. Competes for the same fee-conscious HNW families and business owners with a scalable, custody-integrated platform.

Regional players

• Reby Advisors: Fee-only RIA based in the Pacific Northwest providing fiduciary wealth management to families and small-business owners. Closest direct geographic and segment peer to Pilot — same fee-only fiduciary model, same HNW/family-officer positioning, same Pacific Northwest footprint.
• Fisher Investments: Large fee-only investment manager headquartered in Camas, Washington — same Pacific Northwest region as Pilot — serving individuals and institutions with active global allocation strategies. Highly comparable fee-only, Pacific Northwest RIA peer, but at substantially greater scale and institutional breadth than Pilot.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pilot-wealth-management

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Pilot Wealth Management