What Mason & Associates does

Mason & Associates, Inc. is a privately held, federally registered investment advisory firm (RIA) founded in 1989 by Charles W. Mason and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The firm operates a "Life Planning" wealth management platform that integrates investment management, comprehensive financial planning, family office services, and SRI/ESG investing into a unified, values-centered advisory methodology. It serves high-net-worth individuals, families, business owners, corporate executives, attorneys, entrepreneurs, and LGBTQIA+ clients across nine U.S. states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington), with a partnership presence in Berkeley via Transformative Wealth Management. Governance is family-controlled, with second-generation leadership (President Brent M. Mason and CCO Thomas D. Mason, Esq.) actively engaged, and the team carries multiple professional designations including CFP, CLU, CFA, AIF, AEP, and EA.

Name

Mason & Associates

Legal name

Mason & Associates, Inc.

Website

https://masonlifeplanning.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mason & Associates is a privately held, SEC-registered investment advisory firm founded in 1989 that delivers values-based Life Planning wealth management to high-net-worth individuals, families, business owners, and entrepreneurs across nine U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management and Investment Advisory

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Advisory Portfolio Management (Non-Discretionary) (FSAAABAD)

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Investment advisory services
• Life planning financial
• ESG sustainable investing
• Family office services

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Advisory Fees: Fee-based investment advisory services provided as a federally registered investment advisor. Services include investment management, wealth planning, and life planning. The firm takes fiduciary responsibility seriously and provides advice based on personal risk tolerance and investment objectives.
2. Financial Planning Services: Comprehensive life and financial planning services encompassing budgeting, retirement planning, insurance counseling, income tax minimization strategies, and estate protection. Services are integrated into the overall advisory relationship.
3. Insurance Products: Licensed insurance agents (including Anne Shim with California license #0D70949) offer life, health, and long-term care insurance policies as part of the comprehensive planning approach.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Mason & Associates is a federally registered investment advisory firm that provides fee-based life planning, wealth management, and investment advisory services to individuals, families, business owners, and entrepreneurs. Its offerings span investment management, comprehensive wealth and estate planning, family office services, and SRI/ESG investing, supplemented by licensed life, health, and long-term care insurance products and AI-driven portfolio management.

Product overview

Mason & Associates is a registered investment advisory firm offering a Life Planning platform centered on comprehensive wealth management. The core platform rests on Investment Management, Wealth Planning, Family Office Services, and Life Planning, with the firm's signature SRI/ESG Investing methodology. Around these core offerings, the firm layers specialized add-on modules including Tax-Efficient Strategies, Real Estate Education Planning, Financial Wellness Programs, Smart Future Planning, Risk Management, Retirement Planning, and Tax & Estate Planning. The firm also provides AI for Portfolio Management as an enhanced investment service. Supporting digital tools include a Financial Calculators library (via CalcXML), an educational Videos platform (via Wistia), Weekly Market Updates, and Client Questionnaires for onboarding. All services are coordinated through an open-architecture investment platform that allows flexible selection of investment solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investment Management Strategic investment management services encompassing research, portfolio construction, risk management, and ongoing performance monitoring. The firm uses an open architecture platform to select investments aligned with client Life Plans.
• Wealth Planning Comprehensive financial planning covering estate strategies, insurance counseling, cash flow management, education funding, and portfolio construction, designed to help clients build, protect, and pass on wealth on their own terms.
• Family Office Services Concierge-level financial support for high-net-worth families including advanced tax planning, fiduciary investment management, health advisory, family counsel, philanthropy management, estate coordination, insurance solutions, and education planning across generations.
• SRI / ESG Investing Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact investing that aligns client portfolios with values, supporting environmental sustainability, social justice, and responsible governance practices through negative screening, positive screening, impact investing, and shareholder engagement.
• Life Planning The firm's overarching planning methodology placing core life values at the center of financial advice, encompassing budgeting, retirement planning, insurance counseling, tax minimization, and estate protection integrated into a personalized Life Plan road map.
• Tax-Efficient Strategies Strategies to minimize tax liabilities including tax-advantaged accounts, capital gains planning, tax-loss harvesting, municipal bonds, charitable contributions, estate and gift tax strategies, and business tax optimization.
• Insurance Products Licensed life, health, and long-term care insurance policies offered as part of the comprehensive Life Planning approach.
• Smart Future Planning Multi-generational wealth planning covering next-generation wealth transfer, college savings and inheritance strategy, business succession and exit planning, and planning for future generations via trusts and charitable giving vehicles.
• Financial Wellness Programs Employee financial wellness programs covering budgeting, debt management, retirement planning education, workshops, one-on-one coaching, financial tools, emergency savings, and credit education, primarily for employer-sponsored deployment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Comprehensive, evolving Life Plan Road Map updated as life experiences dictate
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Charles SchwabcoreTechnology or IntegrationCharles Schwab Alliance platform provides client account access and custodial services for investment accounts managed by Mason & Associates. Clients can login to view account information through the firm's website.
• Fidelity InvestmentscoreTechnology or IntegrationFidelity Investments provides custodial platform for client investment accounts with direct login access available through the firm's account access portal.
• eMoneysupportingTechnology or IntegrationeMoney platform provides financial planning and account aggregation tools for client portfolio management and planning services.
• Transformative Wealth ManagementsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransformative Wealth Management partnership provides impact investing expertise and access to alternative investments for ESG-focused portfolio strategies. Located at 900 Colusa Ave, Suite 201, Berkeley, CA 94707.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Moneta Group: Fee-only registered investment advisor providing comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and family office services to HNW individuals nationwide. Comparable in service breadth (financial planning, tax, estate, ESG), though considerably larger in scale and advisor headcount.
• Edelman Financial Services: Independent RIA providing comprehensive financial planning, investment management, tax, and estate services to HNW individuals and families. Comparable service breadth and HNW focus, though significantly larger and with national geographic footprint.
• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Fee-only RIA offering evidence-based investment management, financial planning, and tax strategies to HNW individuals. Comparable service model, though more emphasis on academic investing and tax-loss harvesting than the Life Planning philosophy at Mason & Associates.
• Ronald Blue Trust: Faith-based, fee-only RIA providing comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and estate planning to HNW individuals and families with values-driven advisory relationships. Comparable in mission (values-centered planning), size class, and integrated planning model.
• First Affirmative Financial Network: Specialized RIA network focused exclusively on sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing. Mason & Associates' ESG capability (recognized via the 2009 Keeper of the Flame award from First Affirmative) places it in direct comparison for values-driven HNW clients seeking sustainable portfolios.
• Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors: Long-established, family-influenced independent RIA headquartered in Southern California serving HNW individuals, families, and business owners with comprehensive wealth planning, family office services, and ESG investing. Closely comparable to Mason & Associates in size, mission, multi-generational client focus, and California base.

Broad incumbents

• Creative Planning: One of the largest independent RIAs in the US, offering wealth management, financial planning, tax, and estate services to HNW individuals and families. Overlap with Mason & Associates across the full life planning service stack, but with vastly greater scale, technology investment, and national reach.
• Carson Group: Large RIA and coaching platform providing wealth management, business consulting, and advisor support services. Comparable in offering wealth management to HNW clients, but operates a partnership/affiliate model rather than single-firm advisor teams like Mason & Associates.
• Vanguard Personal Advisor Services: Vanguard's hybrid robo-plus-human advisory offering for HNW clients combining automated portfolios with dedicated CFP advisors. Competes with Mason & Associates for the same HNW segment but at materially lower fees, exerting pricing pressure on boutique RIAs.
• Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium: Charles Schwab's automated investment advisory service with optional CFP access. While Mason & Associates uses Schwab Alliance as a custodian, the premium tier is a direct competitor for clients seeking lower-cost advisory alternatives.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mason_assoc
• Facebookfacebook.com/masonassociates

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Mason & Associates