Blackhorn Partners

What Blackhorn Partners does

Blackhorn Partners is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor founded in 2011 and headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin, with a stated service presence in Madison, WI and Chicago, IL. The firm delivers comprehensive financial planning — covering cash flow and budgeting, goals-based investing, retirement, tax, insurance, education, and estate planning — primarily to high-net-worth multigenerational families and pre-retirees/retirees, with additional personas across early- and mid-career professionals. Advisory services are offered through Blackhorn Partners Private Wealth, LLC, DBA Blackhorn Partners, and the firm operates as a fiduciary with no proprietary products or commission-based compensation.

The practice is built on a stack of third-party platforms rather than proprietary technology. Portfolio custody is distributed across Charles Schwab, Pershing (BNY Mellon), Fidelity, and Altruist; financial planning runs on RightCapital; and tax-return analysis is augmented by Holistiplan's AI-powered tax software, which extracts savings opportunities such as Roth conversions, tax-loss harvesting, and RMD/charitable strategies. Product breadth is organized around a core set of advisory offerings — Financial Planning, Tax Planning, Goals-Based Planning, Education Planning, Insurance Planning, Investment Management, 401(k)/403(b)/457 SDBA services, and Multigenerational Wealth Management — supported by a Client Center portal that links clients to planning and custodian platforms.

Revenue is generated through recurring investment advisory fees billed annually; specific fee schedules are not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is relationship-driven: a sales-led approach targeting HNW individuals and families, layered with event-driven acquisition through speaking engagements, university teaching (Texas Tech, UW-Madison), and community involvement (Rotary, Scouting, conservation groups). The firm has 1–10 employees, no disclosed funding, and is founder-led by R. Philip Petrowski, with no M&A, restructuring, or leadership transitions disclosed.

Name

Blackhorn Partners

Legal name

Blackhorn Partners Private Wealth, LLC

Website

https://blackhornpartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Blackhorn Partners is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor in Middleton, WI serving primarily HNW multigenerational families and pre-retirees/retirees in the Madison and Chicago markets with comprehensive financial, tax, investment, and estate planning delivered through third-party custodian and planning platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Banking & UHNW Wealth Advisory (FSAEABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Onshore Private Banking (Domestic HNW/UHNW) (FSAAABAA)

Keywords

• Financial planning services
• Wealth management advisory
• Investment management
• Retirement planning
• Tax planning services

Headquarters

HQ city

Middleton

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, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Investment Advisory Fees: As a fee-only registered investment advisor (RIA), Blackhorn Partners generates revenue through investment advisory fees. The firm is legally structured as a Registered Investment Advisor and acts as a fiduciary, meaning they are legally required to act in the client's best interest. Advisory services are offered by Blackhorn Partners Private Wealth, LLC DBA Blackhorn Partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Blackhorn Partners is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor providing comprehensive, goals-based financial planning and wealth management services to individuals, families, and multigenerational households. Services include financial planning, investment management, tax planning (using AI tax-analysis tools), retirement/401(k)/403(b)/457 plan services, education planning, insurance analysis, and estate planning, delivered through a fiduciary model with no proprietary products.

Product overview

Blackhorn Partners is a registered investment advisor offering a unified financial advising service built around a comprehensive, goals-based financial planning methodology. The core offering integrates Financial Planning (covering cash flow, retirement, tax, insurance, estate, and education planning), Investment Management (using factor investing grounded in Modern Portfolio Theory), and Tax Planning (enhanced by Holistiplan AI software for tax return analysis). Additional services include 401(k)/403(b)/457 plan management with Self-Directed Brokerage Account options, Multigenerational Wealth Management across life stages, and Client Center portal access connecting clients to custodian platforms (RightCapital, Altruist, Schwab, BNY Mellon NetXInvestor, Fidelity). Educational outreach through speaking and teaching engagements complements the service offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Planning
• Tax Planning
• Goals-Based Financial Planning
• Education Planning
• Insurance Planning
• Investment Management
• 401(k) / 403(b) / 457 Plan Services
• Multigenerational Wealth Management

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Texas Tech UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlackhorn Partners developed course content and materials for instruction at Texas Tech University's School of Human Sciences - Department of Personal Financial Planning. Courses include undergraduate PFP 3301 (Introduction to Personal Finance), PFP 3341 (Goal Planning), PFP 3275 (Employee Benefits), PFP 3497 (Risk Management), and graduate level courses. Also developed curriculum for Consumer Science courses including CNSR SCI 275, 501, 627, 665, and 675.
• Philmont Training Center (Boy Scouts of America)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlackhorn Partners conducts educational seminars at Philmont Training Center in Cimarron, NM, including Major Gifts and Endowment Seminar and Properties Conference. Topics cover charitable gift planning, donor cultivation, investment management for council trust funds, facility design, and camp layout.
• University of Wisconsin - MadisoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlackhorn Partners provides guest lectures and educational content at UW-Madison's School of Human Ecology, Department of Consumer Science. Founder R. Philip Petrowski served as Faculty Lecturer and Guest Lecturer from August 2004 to January 2009.
• Charles SchwabcoreTechnology or IntegrationCharles Schwab serves as a primary custodian platform for client accounts. Available custodian for client dashboard access through Schwab's online portal.
• Pershing (BNY Mellon)coreTechnology or IntegrationPershing, a BNY Mellon company, serves as a custodian platform. Available through NetXInvestor portal. Listed as legacy custodian option.
• FidelitycoreTechnology or IntegrationFidelity serves as a custodian platform available through Fidelity Wealthscape. Listed as legacy custodian option for client accounts.
• AltruistcoreTechnology or IntegrationAltruist provides investment platform access for Blackhorn Partners clients. Integrated into client dashboard for account management.
• RightCapitalcoreTechnology or IntegrationRightCapital provides financial planning software platform used by Blackhorn Partners for client dashboard access. Offers comprehensive financial planning tools including tax optimization, estate planning, and retirement projections.
• HolistiplancoreTechnology or IntegrationHolistiplan AI-powered tax analysis software used by Blackhorn Partners to analyze client tax returns and identify savings opportunities including tax-loss harvesting, Roth conversions, missed credits and deductions, and charitable contribution strategies.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Rockefeller Capital Management: Independent, family-controlled wealth management firm serving UHNW and HNW clients with private wealth, asset management, and investment banking. Comparable in fiduciary positioning and multigenerational wealth transfer focus, with significantly larger scale and broader services.
• Creative Planning: Large fee-only RIA offering comprehensive financial planning, tax, estate, and investment management to HNW individuals and families nationwide. Comparable to Blackhorn in fiduciary, fee-only positioning and HNW focus, but operates at vastly greater scale with a national footprint.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Large independent RIA offering financial planning, investment management, and 401(k) advisory to households nationwide. Comparable in fiduciary, fee-based approach and multigenerational planning focus, but with much larger scale and a more digital delivery model.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: National RIA providing comprehensive financial planning, tax, estate, and investment advisory to HNW and UHNW clients. Comparable in scope of services and HNW targeting, but operates at significantly larger scale with national geographic coverage.
• Empower (formerly Personal Capital): Hybrid digital and human-advice RIA providing investment management, financial planning, and retirement products to HNW households. Comparable in goals-based planning and HNW targeting, but with a tech-first national platform that pressures boutique RIAs on fees.
• Carson Group: National network of fee-based financial advisors providing wealth management, tax, and business consulting services to HNW individuals. Similar RIA-style offering and goals-based planning, but operates a large advisor network and corporate RIA platform.

Direct peers

• Savant Wealth Management: Midwest-based fee-only RIA headquartered in Illinois offering financial planning, investment management, tax, and estate services to HNW individuals and families. Closely comparable in fee-only fiduciary model, HNW segment, and regional Midwestern footprint.

Emerging players

• Facet Wealth: Digital-first flat-fee financial planning firm serving HNW clients via virtual CFPs across the U.S. Comparable in fiduciary, fee-only, and goals-based planning approach, but differentiated by a tech-enabled, geographically unconstrained delivery model that competes for the same HNW segment.
• Sanctuary Wealth: Independent RIA platform partnering with breakaway wirehouse advisors to deliver HNW wealth management. Comparable in offering comprehensive planning to HNW clients, but operates as an advisor platform rather than a single regional boutique firm.

Others

• Focus Financial Partners: Partnership of independent RIAs and wealth management firms, providing scale, technology, and capital support to member firms. Relevant as a potential roll-up acquirer for Blackhorn and a peer at the platform level, though it does not directly serve end clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/blkhrn3775
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blkhrn3775

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 Blackhorn Partners