Brilliant Advice

What Brilliant Advice does

Brilliant Advice is a privately-held, SEC-registered investment adviser (RIA) headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, operating as a small boutique wealth management practice. Founded in 2016 and led by President and CIO Cern Basher, CFA, and Principal Danya Karram, CFP, the firm delivers fiduciary advisory services — including comprehensive financial planning, discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, retirement income planning, tax optimization (loss harvesting, charitable giving), Social Security analysis, and estate planning coordination — primarily to pre-retirees, retirees, business owners facing liquidity events, sandwich-generation families, and high-net-worth individuals across the United States.

The firm operates on a subscription-style, assets-under-management (AUM) fee model with breakpoint discounts, no minimum annual fee, and a policy of non-negotiable, consistent pricing across all clients. It maintains an independent custody architecture with Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and TIAA, ensuring client assets are never in the firm's direct management, and uses Orion Advisor as a third-party client portal for 24/7 account access, performance reporting, and document retrieval. Brilliant Advice does not develop proprietary technology platforms; its differentiators are the fiduciary structure, transparent fee design, a proprietary 'Speed Limit' risk-assessment framework, and advisor co-investment of personal assets in the same vehicles as clients.

Brilliant Advice runs a consultative, relationship-driven sales motion with no self-serve onboarding. New client acquisition is driven primarily by referrals from existing clients and community board involvement (American Cancer Society, YWCA, Play House In The Park, Artswave, United Way), supported by educational website content, client story profiles, and an online fee comparison tool. The firm maintains NAPFA, Financial Planning Association, CFA, and CFP affiliations and is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser operating under a fiduciary standard.

Name

Brilliant Advice

Legal name

Brilliant Advice

Website

https://brilliantadvice.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Brilliant Advice is a Cincinnati-based SEC-registered investment adviser that delivers fee-only, fiduciary wealth management and comprehensive financial planning to pre-retirees, business owners, sandwich-generation families, and high-net-worth individuals in the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Planning–Led RIAs (FSAAACAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Comprehensive Financial Planning (FSAEAAAA)

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Financial planning advisory
• Investment management services
• Retirement income planning
• Registered investment advisor

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Assets Under Management (AUM) Fees: Fees charged as a percentage of the market value of assets placed under Brilliant Advice's advisement. Fee schedule includes breakpoint discounts as aggregated assets grow across all accounts. No minimum annual fee. Fees are never discounted or negotiated, ensuring all clients receive the same fee arrangement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Brilliant Advice is an SEC-registered investment advisor providing comprehensive wealth management and financial planning services to individuals and couples. Core services include financial planning, investment management across traditional and alternative strategies, retirement income planning, tax optimization, estate planning coordination, and ongoing portfolio monitoring delivered on a fiduciary basis with assets held at independent third-party custodians.

Product overview

Brilliant Advice is a single-service wealth management firm offering comprehensive financial advisory services as a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). The core offering is wealth management combining financial planning with investment management advisory. The firm's services are delivered through a client portal (via Orion Advisor platform) for 24/7 account access, supported by an online fee comparison tool for prospective clients. The firm uses independent custodians (Charles Schwab, TIAA, Fidelity) to hold client assets, with no direct product modules or add-ons—the offering is a unified advisory service structured around personalized financial plans and managed portfolios.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wealth Management Services Comprehensive wealth management advisory services delivered on a fiduciary basis as an SEC-registered investment advisor. The service combines personalized financial planning with active investment management across traditional and alternative strategies, tax optimization (loss harvesting, charitable giving), estate planning coordination, retirement income planning, Social Security analysis, 401k/IRA rollovers, and ongoing portfolio monitoring with quarterly or more frequent review meetings. Fees are charged as a percentage of assets under management with breakpoint discounts and no minimum annual fee.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced investment fees through identification of lower-cost investment options and elimination of high-expense products
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Charles SchwabcoreOthersIndependent third-party custodian holding client assets. Ensures accounts are not in Brilliant Advice's direct management, providing institutional-level custody, reporting, and compliance infrastructure. Client accounts held separately at Charles Schwab.
• Fidelity InvestmentscoreOthersIndependent third-party custodian providing account holding services for client assets. Logo displayed as trusted institutional partner.
• TIAAcoreOthersIndependent third-party custodian referenced for retirement plan accounts and college savings accounts. Part of the independent custody model ensuring institutional-grade asset protection.
• Orion AdvisorcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology platform powering client portal for 24/7 account access, investment performance monitoring, document retrieval, and alert setup. Enables clients to access accounts via web and mobile app.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Independent, fee-only RIA offering comprehensive financial planning and investment management to HNW individuals and business owners. Comparable in fiduciary, fee-only model and holistic planning-led approach, though significantly larger in scale.
• SageView Advisory Group: Independent RIA providing financial planning, investment management, and retirement-plan services to individuals and corporate clients. Comparable fee structure, planning-led engagement, and emphasis on retirement-income solutions similar to Brilliant Advice's pre-retiree focus.
• Carson Wealth: RIA serving HNW clients with comprehensive wealth management, tax, and estate planning. Comparable holistic, planning-led model and multi-advisor team structure, though Carson operates through a large national network of partner firms.
• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Fee-only RIA focused on evidence-based financial planning and wealth management for individuals and families. Closely comparable business model: fiduciary, AUM-fee based, planning-led, with an emphasis on independent custody and tax-aware investing.
• SignatureFD: Wealth management and financial planning firm for HNW individuals, families, and business owners. Comparable comprehensive planning and investment advisory offering, fiduciary model, and target client profile.
• Halbert Hargrove: Independent, fee-only RIA serving HNW individuals, families, and business owners with holistic wealth management and financial planning. Comparable in fiduciary stance, AUM-fee structure, and comprehensive planning emphasis.
• Creative Planning: Fee-only RIA providing comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and tax services. Comparable fiduciary, planning-led model and HNW/pre-retiree target market, though significantly larger and more diversified.

Broad incumbents

• Fisher Investments: Large global investment management firm serving HNW individuals and institutions. Comparable in targeting affluent individuals with discretionary portfolio management, but with a far broader scale, product set, and brand reach.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Large national RIA serving HNW and mass-affluent clients with financial planning and investment management. Comparable fiduciary, fee-based model, but operates at much greater scale and broader geographic reach.

Emerging players

• Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios: Digital/hybrid advisory offering from Charles Schwab (also a Brilliant Advice custodian). Represents the low-cost digital competitor pressuring traditional RIAs on price; relevant as a direct substitute for fee-conscious clients evaluating the firm's breakpoint fee schedule.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/brilliantadvis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brilliant-advice

Compliance1 record

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 Brilliant Advice