Heritage Financial

What Heritage Financial does

Heritage Financial, LLC is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor founded in October 2006 in Gainesville, Virginia, by Mark Cooke and J. Robert "Bob" Moon (1949-2019), serving individual and family clients primarily across Northern Virginia and the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. The firm operates with a small team of approximately 7-10 wealth advisors and operations staff and serves more than 300 client households spanning three life-stage segments — young professionals, midcareer professionals, and preretirees/retirees — with the preretirees/retirees cohort identified as primary. Core offerings include comprehensive financial planning, investment management, retirement income planning, and estate planning guidance, delivered through a proprietary six-step methodology branded the LifeMap Discovery Process.

The firm generates revenue through annual advisory fees paid directly by clients as a Registered Investment Advisor (fee-only, no commissions), with specific pricing tiers not publicly disclosed. Distribution is sales-led and direct: wealth advisors prospect through complimentary introductory conversations and rely on referrals and content-driven top-of-funnel marketing (educational blog plus earned-media coverage via Wealth Advisor Aaron Clarke in Forbes, CNBC, Barron's, Wall Street Journal, and others). The technology stack is composed of third-party integrations — Schwab Alliance, American Funds, Everplans, and Orion Advisor — used for custodial, planning, and portfolio-accounting functions rather than proprietary AI/ML infrastructure.

Leadership transitioned in October 2021 when David K. Morton, III was named CEO, succeeding co-founder Mark Cooke, who retired in 2023 and now holds Wealth Advisor Emeritus status. The firm has accumulated regional recognition including Washingtonian Magazine's Top Financial Advisors (2022, 2024, 2025), Northern Virginia Magazine Top Financial Professionals (2020-2025), Five Star Wealth Manager (2025), Money Magazine Best Financial Planners (2024), and Newsweek / Plant-A Insights Top Financial Advisory Firms (2025). Per the company history and parent-company records, Heritage Financial is identified as having been acquired by Savant Wealth Management in March 2026, although one partnership data block disambiguates the specific $3.9 billion / $3.9B-AUM figures as referring to a separate Massachusetts-based Heritage Financial entity rather than the Virginia LLC.

Name

Heritage Financial

Legal name

Heritage Financial, LLC

Website

https://heritagefinllc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Heritage Financial, LLC is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor in Gainesville, Virginia, delivering financial planning and investment management to 300+ individual and family households across Northern Virginia and Washington D.C. through its six-step LifeMap Discovery Process.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Estate & Legacy Planning Advisory (FSAEAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Estate Planning, Trust Structuring & Governance (FSAAADAF)

Keywords

• Fee-only financial planning
• Investment management services
• Fiduciary wealth advisory
• Retirement income planning
• Personal financial planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Gainesville

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Financial Planning and Investment Management: Fee-only fiduciary advisory services providing comprehensive financial planning and investment management. Revenue generated through advisory fees for services including cash flow planning, Social Security optimization, education planning, insurance review, tax planning, and investment management. The firm operates as a Registered Investment Advisor paid solely by clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Heritage Financial is a fee-only Registered Investment Adviser providing comprehensive financial planning and discretionary investment management to individuals and families across Northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C. metro area. Services are organized through the firm's proprietary LifeMap Discovery Process and cover cash flow planning, Social Security optimization, education funding, estate planning, tax planning, and ongoing portfolio management for more than 300 client households.

Product overview

Heritage Financial is a Registered Investment Advisory firm offering a unified wealth management platform built around its proprietary LifeMap Discovery Process—a six-step methodology encompassing Introductory Conversation, LifeMap Discovery, LifeMap Planning, Implementation Meeting, New Client Welcome, and ongoing Progress Meetings. The core offering combines Financial Planning and Investment Management services, supplemented by specialized modules for Retirement Income Planning and Estate Planning Guidance. The firm serves three distinct life-stage segments—Young Professionals, Midcareer Professionals, and Preretirees & Retirees—each receiving tailored financial planning addressing their specific needs such as debt management, retirement savings, education costs, Social Security optimization, and Medicare planning. All services are delivered under a fiduciary obligation, emphasizing low-cost, tax-efficient investment strategies grounded in academic research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Planning Services Comprehensive financial planning engagement covering cash flow planning, budgeting, education funding, Social Security optimization, estate planning, and tax planning, delivered through the firm's LifeMap Discovery Process to individuals and families in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.
• Investment Management Services Discretionary portfolio management built primarily on low-cost, tax-efficient passive strategies and implemented through custodial and portfolio platforms such as Schwab Alliance and Orion, provided to client households as an ongoing advisory service.
• Retirement Income Planning Planning and investment services focused on the transition from accumulation to retirement, including Social Security optimization, withdrawal sequencing, and ongoing income management for households in or approaching retirement.
• Young Professionals Service Track Foundational financial planning and early-stage investment management tailored to young professionals and early-career households building savings, managing debt, and starting long-term investing.
• Midcareer Professionals Service Track Integrated planning and investment management for midcareer professionals and families balancing peak earnings, education funding, and long-term retirement accumulation.
• Preretirees and Retirees Service Track Retirement- and legacy-focused planning and investment management for households in or entering retirement, including Social Security, withdrawal, and estate coordination support.
• Estate Planning Coordination Advisory coordination on estate planning, working in tandem with clients' estate attorneys to integrate legacy and wealth-transfer goals with the broader financial plan.
• Tax Planning Services Year-round tax planning integrated with investment management, including tax-efficient portfolio construction and coordination with clients' outside CPAs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves 300+ client households with comprehensive wealth management

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Mariner is a national fee-only RIA providing comprehensive financial planning, tax, estate, and investment management to high-net-worth individuals and families; comparable to Heritage in fiduciary delivery model and family-wealth focus, but at much greater scale.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Edelman Financial Engines is one of the largest independent RIAs in the U.S., offering fee-only financial planning and investment management to individuals and families; comparable to Heritage in fiduciary, planning-led model, but operates at vastly greater scale with hybrid advice delivery.
• Creative Planning: Creative Planning is a national, fee-only RIA and wealth management firm serving individuals and families with comprehensive financial planning and investment management — a direct business-model peer to Heritage and one of the largest consolidators in the fee-only RIA space.
• Savant Wealth Management: Savant is a large, multi-office fee-only RIA platform with $42B+ AUM post its 2026 acquisitions; listed here because of the explicit Savant-Haritage acquisition data in the record and because Savant operates as the most likely strategic acquirer / roll-up comparator for a sub-$500M-AUM independent RIA in Heritage's region.
• Moneta Group: Moneta is a national fee-only RIA serving high-net-worth individuals and families with comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and tax services; directly comparable to Heritage on fiduciary-only delivery and life-stage planning, but at materially greater AUM scale.
• Corient: Corient is a national, fee-only wealth management firm serving ultra-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals with integrated financial planning, tax, and investment management; directly comparable to Heritage on fiduciary RIA model and family-office-adjacent planning, but at far larger AUM scale and broader U.S. footprint.
• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management: Northwestern Mutual is a large incumbent financial services firm with a wealth management arm offering financial planning and investment advisory; comparable to Heritage on comprehensive planning for individuals and families, though it operates on a hybrid (commission + fee) model and is far larger.
• Carson Wealth: Carson Group (formerly Carson Wealth) is a national RIA and wealth management firm offering financial planning and investment management to individuals and families, often through advisor partnerships; directly comparable to Heritage on fee-only fiduciary model and family-life-stage segmentation.

Emerging players

• Facet Wealth: Facet Wealth is a digitally delivered, fee-only financial planning and investment advisory firm targeting mass-affluent and mid-market households; comparable to Heritage in fiduciary RIA positioning and life-stage planning, but differentiated by a tech-led, remote-first delivery model that competes for similar client demographics.

Others

• Focus Financial Partners: Focus is a leading partnership model for independent RIAs, providing capital, M&A, and back-office support to fiduciary wealth management firms; relevant to Heritage as the prototypical aggregator / capital partner in this segment even though Focus itself is a partner-of-RIAs rather than a direct advisory competitor.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Heritage Financial