What JBJ Invest does

JBJ Invest is a private U.S. wealth management firm founded in 2012 and headquartered in Charleston, SC, that has rebranded to and operates as Creative Planning, LLC, with its corporate mailing address in Overland Park, KS. Under the Creative Planning brand, the firm offers a comprehensive suite of personal wealth management services (investment management, strategic tax planning, estate planning, financial planning, retirement planning, insurance planning), family office services for ultra-affluent households (legacy planning, charitable planning, wealth transfer, liquidity and exit planning, valuations, outsourced accounting, family governance), institutional retirement and foundation services (401(k) administration, institutional investment consulting), and a broad set of business services (M&A consulting, business valuations, tax, audit and attest via the BerganKDV partnership, outsourced accounting and bill pay, payroll, legal, technology, and insurance). The firm employs 625+ CFP Professionals across major U.S. metropolitan areas and reports $710B+ in combined assets under management or advisement as of December 31, 2025, across all 50 states.

The business model is anchored on recurring, asset-based fees on combined assets under management or advisement, supplemented by fees from professional and business services delivered to the same client households and their operating businesses. The client engagement is led by a direct field advisory network with location-based advisor matching (100-mile radius) and a dedicated inside-sales phone operation, supported by content marketing via an Insights blog, financial calculators, and three podcasts (Down the Middle, Signal or Noise?, Icons and Ideas). The minimum investment threshold is $500,000 in U.S.-based investable assets, and the firm pursues specialty vertical segments including healthcare, aviation, law enforcement, sports and entertainment, dentists, coaches, social impact, and Catholic organizations. Strategic positioning is reinforced by seven consecutive years on Barron's Top RIA Firms (2019-2025), the FA Magazine Top RIA Firms (2025), and the WSJ Buyside ranking as 'Best for Comprehensive Wealth Management' (February 2026). Leadership is provided by Founder and Chairman James B. Jackson and President and CIO Mathew Emmert.

The combined entity is privately held as Creative Planning, LLC, with no disclosed parent company, institutional investor, or funding rounds, and is registered as an independent Registered Investment Advisor in Kansas. The firm is structured to operate as a fiduciary wealth manager while partnering with BerganKDV, an independent CPA firm, to deliver audit and attest services, preserving CPA independence. There are no proprietary technology platforms, APIs, or AI/ML capabilities disclosed in the available source material; the technology stack is not specified and operational differentiation is delivered primarily through human advisor coverage, vertical specialty practices, and bundled service breadth rather than through software or data products.

Name

JBJ Invest

Legal name

Creative Planning, LLC

Website

https://jbjinvest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

JBJ Invest (now Creative Planning) is a U.S. wealth management firm offering investment management, tax, estate, retirement, family office, and business services to HNW and ultra-affluent households nationwide, advised by 625+ CFP Professionals with $710B+ under management.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Charleston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wealth Management AUM Fees: Asset-based fees charged on combined assets under management or advisement, totaling $710B+ across Creative Planning and affiliates as of December 31, 2025. This represents the primary revenue stream for ultra-affluent and high-net-worth wealth management services.
2. Business Consulting & Professional Services: Revenue from business services including tax planning, audit & attest, accounting & bill pay, payroll services, legal services, technology services, insurance, business valuation, and mergers & acquisitions consulting. These services are provided alongside wealth management offerings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

JBJ Invest, now operating as Creative Planning, is an independent wealth management and Registered Investment Advisor firm that delivers fee-based investment management, comprehensive financial planning, retirement plan consulting, family office services, and ancillary business services (tax, audit, M&A, valuations, accounting, payroll, legal, technology, and insurance). The firm serves U.S. households with a minimum $500,000 investable asset threshold and organizational clients needing retirement plan administration and institutional consulting.

Product overview

JBJ Invest is now Creative Planning, a unified wealth management and financial services firm offering a comprehensive suite of services across three primary segments: Personal Wealth Management (investment management, tax planning, estate planning, retirement planning, and insurance), Family Office Services (for ultra-affluent clients with $10M+ in assets including legacy planning, charitable planning, and family governance), and Business Services (including M&A consulting, valuations, tax, audit, accounting, payroll, legal, technology, and insurance). The firm serves clients nationwide with a minimum investment threshold of $500,000 in U.S.-based investable assets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Personal Wealth Management

Quantifiable outcome

• $710B+ in combined assets under management or advisement
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BerganKDVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative Planning works closely with BerganKDV, an independent and separately governed licensed CPA firm, to provide audit and attest services to clients. This partnership allows Creative Planning to offer comprehensive accounting and auditing capabilities while maintaining independence as a wealth management firm (not a public accounting firm).

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Commonwealth Financial Network: Large independent broker-dealer/RIA platform providing advisors with wealth management, retirement, and planning capabilities for HNW clients, comparable in advisor-network distribution model.
• Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management: Incumbent bulge-bracket wealth arm delivering financial planning, investment management, and banking to HNW/UHNW clients, comparable target customer but embedded in a much larger full-service financial institution.

Direct peers

• Hightower Advisors: National RIA platform providing comprehensive wealth planning, investment management, and family office services to HNW individuals, with a similar advisor-led, multi-channel distribution model.
• Carson Group: Independent wealth management firm offering financial advisors integrated planning, investment, tax, and business services to HNW clients through a partner-network distribution model.
• Bessemer Trust: Multi-family office providing investment management, estate planning, tax, and family governance services exclusively to UHNW families, comparable in client segment and service depth.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Large independent RIA delivering investment advisory, financial planning, and retirement plan services to HNW households and corporate plans, with similar comprehensive-service breadth.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Large independent RIA offering comprehensive wealth planning, tax, estate, and family office services to HNW/UHNW clients nationwide with similar bundled-service positioning and advisor-led distribution.
• Focus Financial Partners: Leading partnership platform of independent RIAs serving HNW households with wealth management, tax, and consulting services, comparable in scale and full-service offering.
• Mercer Advisors: National RIA offering comprehensive wealth management, tax, estate, and retirement plan services to HNW households, with comparable scale trajectory and advisor-led acquisition strategy.
• Fisher Investments: Privately held investment management firm serving high-net-worth individuals and institutions with discretionary portfolio management, directly comparable in scale and HNW focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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 JBJ Invest