What North Star does

North Star Advisory Group, LLC ("NSAG") is a privately held, SEC-registered investment advisor (RIA) founded in 2013 by Mark Kangas, CFP®, headquartered at 2000 Auburn Drive, Suite 415, Beachwood, Ohio. The firm operates on a fiduciary basis and positions itself as a "Personal CFO," delivering integrated financial, retirement, income, education, insurance, investment, tax, and estate planning to individuals, families, and business owners across 25+ U.S. states and internationally. As of January 2025, NSAG managed $225M+ in assets, served 200+ families and 400+ households, and administered 45+ retirement plans. Core products and service modules include Financial/Retirement/Income Planning, Education Planning, Insurance Planning, Investment Planning, Tax & Estate Planning, and Retirement Plan Design & Setup for businesses, delivered through a small team of CFP®, CFA®, and ESQ.-credentialed professionals (8-9 staff including the CEO, financial advisors, a co-portfolio manager, paraplanners, and an executive assistant). The technology stack is a proprietary client portal (built on bdreporting.com) that provides consolidated asset-allocation, performance-vs-benchmark, and activity dashboards, with Charles Schwab serving as custodian and SSO links to Lively HSA, Ohio 529, and RPRG Online for 401(k) administration.

The business model is fee-only and AUM-based: NSAG charges 1% or less per managed account, below the typical 1-2% industry band, and offers 529 college planning, individual bonds, and CDs on a complimentary basis. Pricing is billed annually on a recurring basis, with revenue mechanics almost entirely subscription-style against AUM and plan-administration engagements rather than transactional or commission-based. Go-to-market is referral-driven (client and professional referrals from attorneys and CPAs), supplemented by a monthly investor-education newsletter ("Timely Topics"), a 24/7 online booking tool for consultations, and direct advisory relationships managed remotely rather than through a multi-office footprint — a cost structure the firm explicitly cites as enabling its below-market fee.

The firm has no parent company, no external institutional investment, no disclosed funding rounds, and no subsidiaries; ownership and operational control remain with founder-CEO Mark Kangas. No revenue, ARR, or GMV is publicly disclosed. Recent observable moves include a 2024 promotion of Brian Duffield, CFA® to Co-Portfolio Manager & Market Strategist, onboarding of additional paraplanners and an executive assistant charged with AI tooling initiatives, and expansion of the third-party partner stack (Lively, Ohio 529, RPRG Online) to broaden service surface without internal build-out.

Name

North Star

Legal name

North Star Advisory Group, LLC

Website

https://nsag.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

North Star Advisory Group is a Beachwood, Ohio-based, SEC-registered investment advisor founded in 2013 that delivers fiduciary financial, retirement, tax, estate, insurance, and education planning to individuals, families, and business owners across 25+ 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-Based Advisory (FSAEAAAM)

Keywords

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

Headquarters

HQ city

Beachwood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Advisory Fees (AUM-based): The firm charges 1% or less on every account managed. This fee-based structure is typically lower than industry standard of 1-2%. 529 College planning is always complimentary for clients, as are individual bonds and CDs. Being a registered investment advisor, the firm operates on a fiduciary basis.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

North Star Advisory Group provides comprehensive, fee-based financial planning and investment advisory services as a "Personal CFO" for individuals, families, and business owners. The offering spans financial, retirement, income, education, insurance, investment, tax, and estate planning, with assets custodied at Charles Schwab and accessed via a proprietary in-house-built Client Portal. The firm is a fiduciary, operating on an AUM-based fee of 1% or less, with complimentary 529 college planning and individual bond/CD services.

Product overview

North Star Advisory Group offers a unified financial advisory platform positioned as 'Your Personal CFO' service. The core offering is comprehensive financial planning augmented by specialized service modules including Education Planning, Insurance Planning, Investment Planning, Tax & Estate Planning, and Retirement Plan Design & Setup. The proprietary Client Portal serves as the central digital hub providing 24/7 access to portfolio dashboards, performance reporting, and account management. All services are delivered through a fiduciary model with fee-based pricing (1% or less) and integrate with third-party custodians (Charles Schwab) and account platforms (HSA, 401k, 529 plans).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial, Retirement & Income Planning Comprehensive financial planning service acting as a 'Personal CFO' for individuals, families, and businesses—evaluating the complete financial picture including cash flow, retirement needs analysis, Social Security planning, and an integrated dashboard across all accounts.
• Education Planning Education savings and planning service covering education needs analysis, education savings vehicles, financial aid optimization, gift/income tax strategies, and education financing for pre-college and college planning; 529 plans are offered at no additional fee.
• Insurance Planning Insurance planning service including needs analysis, risk evaluation, life insurance (individual, key person, buy/sell), long-term care, disability income, health insurance, annuities, and business uses of insurance.
• Investment Planning Investment planning service covering investment risk analysis, quantitative/qualitative analysis, asset allocation, portfolio diversification, alternative investments, and investment types including CDs, bonds, stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds (individual bonds and CDs are complimentary).
• Tax & Estate Planning Tax and estate planning service focused on long-term tax efficiency, including income tax projections, business entity tax planning, trust/estate taxation, tax reduction techniques, charitable contributions, and estate planning coordination with client attorneys.
• Retirement Plan Design & Setup Business retirement plan design service covering plan selection (SIMPLE, SEP, 401k, Cash Balance Plans), 403b, 457, Pensions, ESOP, qualified plan rules, and ongoing maintenance including plan closing; firm is lead partner on ERISA pensions, 403(b), 457(b), and 401(k) plan engagements.
• Business Planning Services for Executives & Business Owners Comprehensive business advisory services including succession planning, business valuation, strategic planning, employee benefit planning, 401K/403b/457 analysis, pension evaluation, compensation analysis, and stock option planning for executives and business owners.
• Individual & Family Financial Planning Holistic financial planning for individuals and families covering cash management, fixed income, bond ladders, college planning, retirement planning, insurance review, estate planning, and ongoing plan management with scheduled reviews.
• Client Portal Proprietary web-based client dashboard providing 24/7 access to portfolio information, asset allocation views, performance reporting against custom blended benchmarks, and activity tracking, with multi-factor authentication, device registration, and permission controls; built on the bdreporting.com platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serve 200+ families and 400+ households
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationCharles Schwab serves as the custodian for client assets. Schwab maintains custody of client assets in brokerage accounts and effects transactions on advisor instruction. NSAG provides investment advice while Schwab handles custody and execution.
• Third Party Administrators (TPAs)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTPAs are required for 401(k) plan administration, including plan sponsor document creation, enrollment processes, and ongoing recordkeeping.
• 401(k) Platform (RPRG Online)coreTechnology or IntegrationDedicated 401(k) platform for employees and employers to access and manage retirement plans.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Fee-only RIA with fiduciary model and comprehensive planning for individuals and families including tax, estate, and investment — closely aligned with NSAG's fee-based and fiduciary positioning.
• Creative Planning: Large independent fee-only RIA offering comprehensive financial planning across retirement, tax, estate, and investment services — directly comparable to NSAG's Personal CFO model but at materially greater AUM scale.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: PE-backed national RIA providing holistic financial planning, investment advisory, and retirement plan services to HNW individuals and business owners — same target segments and bundled-service model as NSAG, but at significantly larger scale.
• Carson Wealth: RIA platform serving individuals and business owners with comprehensive financial planning including retirement plan design — comparable multi-service offering with a strong referral/CPA-partner GTM similar to NSAG's.
• Hightower Advisors: National RIA platform providing wealth management, retirement plan services, and business advisory — directly comparable to NSAG but operating through an advisor partnership/roll-up model.

Emerging players

• Schwab Intelligent Portfolios: Robo-advisor offered by NSAG's custodian Charles Schwab — a direct fee-and-technology competitor for simpler advisory clients that pressures traditional 1% AUM pricing across the RIA industry.
• Facet Wealth: Tech-enabled flat-fee RIA providing financial planning and investment management to mass-affluent and HNW clients — an emerging competitor applying technology to disrupt traditional percentage-based AUM pricing like NSAG's model.

Broad incumbents

• Edelman Financial Engines: Large national RIA combining traditional financial planning with retirement-plan-focused services and digital advice — a broader incumbent with overlapping offerings to NSAG's retirement plan design business.
• Fisher Investments: Large asset manager primarily serving HNW individuals with portfolio management — a broader incumbent that competes with NSAG for the same HNW investor segment though focused on investment management rather than comprehensive planning.
• Mercer Advisors: One of the largest US RIA consolidators offering comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and retirement plan services — a scaled, PE-backed incumbent operating the same bundled-advice model as NSAG nationally.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/NSAGAdvisory
• Facebookfacebook.com/NSAGAdvisory
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/north-star-advisory-group

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 North Star