What Fee-Only Financial Advisors does

Fee-Only Financial Advisors, Ltd. is a privately held, founder-owned Illinois Registered Investment Advisory firm established in January 1995 by David A. Theis, CFP. Headquartered at 116 E. Slade Street in Palatine, Illinois, the firm specializes exclusively in serving retiree clients through personalized financial planning and investment advisory services, including retirement planning, estate planning, tax reduction strategies, risk management, cash flow analysis, and accumulation goal-setting.

The firm operates under a strict fee-only compensation model in which it is paid solely by the client and accepts no commissions, referral fees, or reimbursements from product recommendations. Client acquisition is driven by direct engagement, referrals, and NAPFA network affiliation. All advisory work is delivered through personal consultations from the single Palatine office, with the firm authorized to operate in Illinois and other states where eligible. The technology footprint is limited to a static informational website, with no proprietary platform, app, or API.

Fee-Only Financial Advisors, Ltd. is wholly owned and controlled by its founder, with no external institutional investment, private equity ownership, or parent company. The leadership record identifies David A. Theis, CFP as the sole named principal; he holds the CFP designation (earned 1991), is a full NAPFA member, and brings over 25 years of financial advisory experience following prior roles at IDS Financial Services (now Ameriprise) and Bethke & Associates.

Name

Fee-Only Financial Advisors

Legal name

Fee-Only Financial Advisors, Ltd.

Website

https://feeonlyfinancial.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fee-Only Financial Advisors, Ltd. is a Palatine, Illinois-based Registered Investment Advisory firm founded in 1995 that provides fee-only financial planning and investment advisory services exclusively to retiree clients in Illinois and eligible states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Advisory Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Fee-Only Advisory (FSAEAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Advisory Portfolio Management (Non-Discretionary) (FSAAABAD)

Keywords

• Fee-only financial planning
• Retirement planning services
• Estate planning advisory
• Investment advisory services
• Tax reduction strategies

Headquarters

HQ city

Palatine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Fee-Only Financial Advisory Services: The firm is paid solely by the client for financial planning and investment advisory services. They accept no commissions, no referral fees, and no reimbursements from their recommendations. This fee-only model ensures client interests are aligned with the advisor, eliminating conflicts of interest associated with commission-based compensation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Fee-Only Financial Advisors, Ltd. provides personalized investment advisory services and comprehensive financial planning to retiree clients on a fee-only basis. Core offerings include retirement planning, estate planning, risk management, tax reduction strategies, accumulation goal setting, and financial position and cash flow analysis. The firm is compensated solely by clients and accepts no commissions, referral fees, or reimbursements from product recommendations.

Product overview

Fee-Only Financial Advisors, Ltd. is a single-location financial advisory firm offering Investment Advisory Services and Financial Planning as its core service offering. The firm specializes in serving Retiree clients, providing services organized around key financial planning areas: retirement planning, estate planning, tax reduction strategies, risk management, accumulation goals, and financial position/cash flow analysis. The company operates on a fee-only model, being compensated solely by clients without accepting commissions, referral fees, or reimbursements. David A. Theis, CFP® serves as President & CEO, bringing over 25 years of financial experience. All services are delivered through direct client relationships at the firm's Palatine, Illinois office.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investment Advisory Services

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA)coreOthersDavid A. Theis, President & CEO, is a full member of NAPFA - the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. NAPFA is the leading professional association for fee-only financial advisors in the United States, requiring members to adhere to strict fiduciary standards and fee-only compensation structures.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Emerging players

• Wealthfront: Wealthfront is a leading robo-advisor offering automated, low-fee portfolio management and retirement planning tools. It represents an emerging threat to traditional fee-only advisors by serving tech-engaged pre-retirees and retirees at lower price points.
• Betterment: Betterment is a digital wealth management platform offering goal-based, low-fee advisory services including retirement planning. It competes for the same end clients—retirees and pre-retirees—via a different, technology-led delivery model.
• Facet Wealth: Facet Wealth is a tech-enabled fee-only financial planning firm that pairs clients with CFP professionals, often targeting retirees and mass-affluent households. Its flat-fee, hybrid digital model overlaps meaningfully with the subject firm's value proposition.

Broad incumbents

• Edward Jones: Edward Jones is a large incumbent brokerage and advisory firm with a strong local-branch, retiree-focused model. It competes for similar retiree households but operates on a hybrid commission/fee structure across a national footprint, making it a broad incumbent.
• Fisher Investments: Fisher Investments is a large incumbent asset manager serving high-net-worth and retirement-oriented clients. While overlapping in the retiree investment advisory space, its scale, fee structure, and sales model make it a broad incumbent peer rather than a direct competitor.
• Ameriprise Financial: Ameriprise is a large incumbent wealth manager and the successor to IDS Financial Services, where founder David Theis previously worked. While it offers financial advisory and retirement planning products, its hybrid commission/fee model and scale make it a broader incumbent rather than a pure direct peer.

Direct peers

• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Buckingham is a national fee-only financial planning firm emphasizing evidence-based investing, tax planning, and retirement income strategies. Its fee-only compensation and comprehensive retirement planning focus closely mirror the subject firm's offering.
• Carson Wealth: Carson Wealth is a fee-only RIA serving a similar retiree and mass-affluent client base with comprehensive financial planning. Its size is larger, but its fee-only model, holistic planning focus, and retirement-oriented offering make it a directly comparable peer in product and target market.
• Halbert Hargrove: Halbert Hargrove is a fee-only advisory firm focused on individuals and families, with deep retirement, estate, and tax planning capabilities. Its size and structure are reasonably comparable to the subject firm, making it a strong mid-market direct peer.
• Creative Planning: Creative Planning is one of the largest independent fee-only RIAs in the U.S., offering retirement, estate, and tax planning services. While larger, it competes in the same fee-only comprehensive planning space for similar retiree and pre-retiree households.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fee-only-financial-advisors-ltd.

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Fee-Only Financial Advisors