Pension Investment Services

What Pension Investment Services does

Pension Investment Services, LLC (PINS) is a privately-held, sole-practitioner-led independent advisory firm headquartered in Mill Creek, Washington. Founded in 2000 as the marketing arm of a regional Third Party Administrator and reorganized as an LLC in 2009, the firm is wholly owned by John F. Kapek, who holds CLU, ChFC, CFPA, and PPC designations. PINS operates as a Registered Representative and Investment Advisor Representative through Independent Financial Partners (IFP Securities / IFP Advisors) for securities and RIA activity.

The firm's offering centers on three core product lines: Investment Management for individuals and families, Insurance Services (life and disability placements routed through EasyLife), and Retirement Plan Services, which is the primary economic engine. Within Retirement Plan Services, PINS acts as a 3(21) Investment Advisor or 3(38) Investment Manager fiduciary, delivering plan design across Traditional DB, 412(e)(3), and Cash Balance plans as well as 401(k) / Profit Sharing variants, alongside Plan Fee Benchmarking (DOL 408(b)2 / 404(a)5), Investment Policy Statement development, Participant Education, and Provider Search & Vendor Evaluation support. The technology stack is intentionally thin: industry-standard financial planning tools, third-party calculators, and Riskalyze for risk profiling, with no proprietary platform.

Revenue is generated through three streams: fee-based asset management (currently over $35 million AUM on subscription/recurring fees), commission-based securities transactions via IFP Securities, and fee-based retirement plan consulting billed on negotiated fees or hourly rates. Distribution is direct, sales-led, and referral-driven, combining professional networking (NAIFA, Society of Financial Service Professionals, Spokane Estate Planning Council) with a co-advisory arrangement with Bukaty Retirement Plan Services that extends the firm's qualified plan reach from Washington to North Carolina and Puerto Rico. Customer mix spans retirees, closely held businesses, and plan sponsors ranging from startups to plans with over $1 billion in assets.

Name

Pension Investment Services

Legal name

Pension Investment Services, LLC

Website

https://pins-inc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pension Investment Services (PINS) is an independent, privately-held advisory firm in Mill Creek, WA that provides fee-based investment management, insurance placement, and retirement plan consulting (3(21)/3(38) fiduciary services) to business owners, plan sponsors, and retirees, transacting through Independent Financial Partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retirement Plan Advisory & Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities (5242), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Employer Retirement Plan Advisory (401(k)/Pension) (FSAEABAE)

Keywords

• Retirement plan consulting
• Fiduciary advisory services
• Investment management
• Insurance advisory services
• Qualified plan design

Headquarters

HQ city

Mill Creek

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fee-Based Asset Management: Mr. Kapek manages over $35 million in fee-based, asset management contracts for clients. Fees are charged on assets under management.
2. Securities Sales: Securities offered through IFP Securities, LLC, dba Independent Financial Partners, member FINRA/SIPC. Commission-based securities transactions.
3. Retirement Plan Consulting: Fee-based Financial & Investment Fiduciary Advisory services to Qualified Plans & Trustees, billed on a negotiated fee or hourly rate basis.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pension Investment Services provides independent fee-based investment management, insurance advisory, and ERISA-compliant retirement plan consulting services. The firm designs, funds, and manages qualified retirement plans (including 401(k), Traditional, 412(e)(3), and Cash Balance Defined Benefit plans) for business owners and employers, while also delivering personalized wealth management to individuals and retirees. Securities transactions are processed through IFP Securities, LLC (Independent Financial Partners), with insurance solutions accessed through multiple carriers via EasyLife.

Product overview

Pension Investment Services (PINS) offers a suite of financial services centered on retirement planning and wealth management. The core offerings include Investment Management for fee-based advisory services, Insurance Services for life and disability coverage, and Retirement Plan Services as the primary business focus. The Retirement Plan Services platform encompasses plan design assistance for Traditional Defined Benefit, 412(e)(3), Cash Balance, 401(k), and Profit Sharing Plans; Plan Fee Benchmarking for DOL compliance; Investment Policy Statement development; and Participant Education programs. The company operates as an independent RIA providing ERISA 3(21) Investment Advisor or 3(38) Investment Manager fiduciary services, with access to thousands of institutionally-priced investments through an open architecture approach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investment Management Fee-based financial advisory and investment management services for individuals and families, featuring personalized portfolio strategies aligned with client risk tolerance and goals, with assets managed under holistic low-cost and tax-efficient strategies.
• Insurance Services Life and disability insurance advisory services providing access to multiple well-respected insurance carriers for term, permanent, and custom insurance solutions, leveraging over 50 years of maintained independence to provide custom-fit coverage for protection from disability or pre-mature death.
• Retirement Plan Services Comprehensive ERISA-compliant retirement plan consulting including plan design, investment management as 3(21) or 3(38) fiduciary, participant education, and compliance support for 401(k), defined benefit, and profit sharing plans ranging from start-ups to over $1 billion in assets.
• Pension Analysis & Design Assistance Expert assistance in designing Traditional Defined Benefit, 412(e)(3) Fully Insured, Cash Balance Pension Plans, 401(k), and Profit Sharing Plans with various allocation methods including Age Weighted, Cross Tested, or New Comparability allocations.
• Plan Fee Benchmarking DOL 408(b)2 and 404(a)5 fee disclosure compliance analysis comparing plan administrative costs and investment expenses against industry standards for existing plans.
• Participant Education Employee retirement planning education addressing savings goals, investment allocation, and retirement timing, delivered as an ongoing process rather than one-time events.
• Investment Policy Statement Development Fiduciary documentation services including creation, monitoring, and periodic review of Investment Policy Statements for retirement plan governance.
• Provider Search & Vendor Evaluation Request for Proposal preparation, marketplace vendor search, proposal analysis, and finalist interview support for plan service provider selection.

Quantifiable outcome

• $35 million+ in fee-based asset management
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IFP Securities / Independent Financial PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSecurities offered through IFP Securities, LLC, dba Independent Financial Partners (IFP), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through IFP Advisors, LLC, dba Independent Financial Partners, a Registered Investment Advisor. This is the primary broker-dealer relationship through which PINS transacts business.
• EasyLife InsuranceminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInsurance product referrals through EasyLife Insurance partnership. John recommends EasyLife for life insurance options and reviews.
• Bukaty Retirement Plan ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVince Morris, Chief Compliance Officer and President of Bukaty Retirement Plan Services RIA, co-advises with John Kapek on multi-state 401(k) plans reaching from Washington to North Carolina and Puerto Rico.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• CAPTRUST: One of the largest independent retirement plan advisory firms in the U.S., serving plans of all sizes with 3(21)/3(38) fiduciary services, investment due diligence, and plan design — directly comparable to PINS' core retirement plan consulting offering but at far greater scale.
• Milliman / Milliman Financial Risk Control: Global actuarial and consulting firm with a retirement plan advisory practice providing plan design, funding studies, and investment advisory — relevant peer for PINS' cash balance and defined benefit plan design capabilities.
• FuturePlan by Ascensus: Retirement plan consulting practice of Ascensus providing 3(16)/3(21)/3(38) fiduciary services and plan design support — competes directly for the small-to-mid market plan sponsors that PINS targets.
• NFP Retirement: Retirement plan advisory arm of NFP, offering 3(21)/3(38) fiduciary services, plan benchmarking, and participant education to corporate plans — comparable service mix targeting similar plan-sponsor clients.
• Lockton Retirement Services: Major retirement plan consulting practice within Lockton, the world's largest independent insurance brokerage, offering fiduciary, investment advisory, and plan design services to corporate plans of all sizes.
• OneDigital: Large national benefits and retirement advisory platform offering plan design, fiduciary investment advice, and participant services to employer plans — competes for the same qualified-plan clients PINS serves, with deeper technology and broader service lines.

Direct peers

• Strategic Retirement Partners (SRP): Independent retirement plan consulting firm focused on mid-to-large employer plans, providing 3(21)/3(38) fiduciary services, plan benchmarking, and participant education — closely aligned with PINS' open-architecture, fee-based model.
• Heritage Capital Group: Independent RIA providing retirement plan advisory and wealth management services to businesses and individuals — comparable independent, fee-based model serving similar SMB plan-sponsor and high-net-worth clientele.
• SageView Advisory Group: Independent retirement plan and corporate advisory firm providing 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciary services, plan benchmarking, and participant education — overlapping closely with PINS' mid-market retirement plan focus.
• Bukaty Retirement Plan Services: Independent RIA providing retirement plan advisory and 3(21)/3(38) fiduciary services — already co-advises multi-state plans with PINS and represents the closest operational peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pension-investment-services-llc

Compliance2 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 Pension Investment Services