Northstar Financial Planning

What Northstar Financial Planning does

Northstar Financial Planning LLC is a privately held, fee-only Registered Investment Advisory firm headquartered in Windham, New Hampshire, founded in 1995. The firm delivers wealth management, investment management, and financial life planning services to high-net-worth individuals, with a stated minimum of $1M in investable assets. Its core offering spans Retirement Planning, Financial Planning, Life Planning and Transitions, Investment Management, and Wealth Management Facilitation, with specialized services for clients navigating divorce, widowhood, and business ownership transitions. The firm is owned and operated entirely by women and its team holds Certified Financial Transitionist (CeFT), CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, and CPA credentials, positioning it as a specialist in emotionally complex financial transitions.

The business model is subscription-style recurring fees paid directly by clients, with no commissions on products sold and a fiduciary standard of care. Acquisition channels combine content marketing (blog, whitepapers, on-demand webinars, podcast appearances), a sponsored Modern Widows Club community chapter hosted at the Windham office, partnerships with complementary professionals (e.g., Vesta New Hampshire on divorce content), and direct discovery calls scheduled through Calendly. Technology infrastructure is intentionally lean: client assets are custodied at Charles Schwab, the Northstar Financial Dashboard runs on eMaplan, and there is no disclosed AI, mobile application, or proprietary planning engine.

The firm is regionally anchored in New Hampshire (Windham, Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Merrimack) while serving clients nationwide. Recognition includes the Forbes Best in State Wealth Advisors 2024 and Best-In-State Top Women Advisors 2026 rankings, and the Montgomery-Warschauer Award from the Financial Planning Association tied to Julie Fortin's research on integrating interpersonal neurobiology into financial planning. Revenue and AUM are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Northstar Financial Planning

Legal name

Northstar Financial Planning LLC

Website

https://northstarfp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Northstar Financial Planning is a women-owned, fee-only Registered Investment Advisory firm in Windham, NH, founded in 1995. It provides wealth management, investment management, and life transition financial planning to high-net-worth clients (minimum $1M investable assets), with specialized services for women navigating divorce and widowhood.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Planning–Led RIAs (FSAAACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Comprehensive Financial Planning (FSAEAAAA), Corporate Retirement Plan Advisory RIAs (ERISA 401(k)/403(b)) (FSAAACAF), Estate & Legacy Planning Advisory (FSAEAAAG)

Keywords

• Fee-only wealth management
• Financial life planning
• Investment advisory services
• Transition financial planning
• Fiduciary financial advice

Headquarters

HQ city

Windham

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Fee-Only Wealth Management: Northstar Financial Planning is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisory firm. They are paid directly by clients rather than earning commissions on products or solutions sold, eliminating conflicts of interest. They provide ongoing wealth management services with short-term exceptions for transition clients (divorce, widowhood, inheritance, retirement, business sale).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Northstar Financial Planning is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) firm providing wealth management, financial planning, and investment management services to individuals and families. The firm specializes in financial life planning for clients facing major life transitions — particularly women navigating divorce, widowhood, retirement, or the sale of a business — with a stated $1M+ investable asset threshold. Services are delivered through a holistic, goals-based planning model anchored in fiduciary advice.

Product overview

Northstar Financial Planning is an independent, fee-only Registered Investment Advisory firm offering ongoing wealth management services with short-term exceptions for transition clients. The core offering combines Retirement Planning, Financial Planning, Life Planning and Transitions, Investment Management, and Wealth Management Facilitation. Specialized services address specific life transitions including Divorce Financial Planning, Widow Financial Planning, and Business Owner Planning. Educational offerings include Whitepapers, On-Demand Webinars, and the Modern Widows Club community program. The firm serves high-net-worth individuals with $1 million or more in investable assets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Modern Widows Club: A community program designed to create a safe and private environment for widows to lean into life together through the journey. Northstar is proud to sponsor the local Modern Widows Club chapter - Southern NH chapter.

Products and services

• Retirement Planning

Quantifiable outcome

• Forbes Best in State Wealth Advisors recognition
• +1 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Modern Widows ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthstar Financial Planning is proud to sponsor the local Southern NH chapter of Modern Widows Club, a national non-profit empowering widows to thrive. The chapter meets monthly at Northstar's Windham office. This partnership provides community support for widows while generating qualified referrals for the firm.
• Vesta New HampshirecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborative partnership for divorce support webinars and educational content. Robin Young and the Northstar team partner with Vesta New Hampshire for monthly webinars covering divorce topics including alimony, child support, financial strategies, and preparation for 2026.
• Financial Transitionist InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthstar advisors hold Certified Financial Transitionist (CeFT) certifications from this institute. Robin Young collaborated with the institute on 'Empowering You: A Woman's Guidebook to Navigating Divorce'. The institute provides specialized training for financial professionals serving clients in life transitions.
• Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationCharles Schwab serves as the custodian for client assets. Northstar provides investment advice while Schwab maintains custody of assets in brokerage accounts and executes transactions on firm instruction. Independent of, and has no affiliation with, Schwab.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Wealthramp: Vetted referral platform connecting consumers with fee-only financial advisors, with a stated emphasis on serving women and underserved demographics. Visible as a Northstar affiliate on its homepage; comparable women-focused positioning.

Direct peers

• Ellevest: Financial services platform built specifically for women, offering investment management and financial planning. Closest comparable in terms of women-focused positioning, though more digital/tech-led than Northstar's high-touch model.
• Facet Wealth: Flat-fee, fiduciary financial planning and investment management firm serving HNW and mass-affluent clients via a hybrid human + digital model. Directly comparable fee structure and financial-planning-led offering.
• XY Planning Network: Network of fee-only, fiduciary financial planners serving next-generation and mass-affluent clients with ongoing subscription-style engagements. Comparable fee-only RIA model and recurring-revenue structure, though broader in demographic focus.
• RB Advisory: Boutique fee-only RIA specializing in financial planning for women in transition (divorce, widowhood). Directly comparable niche focus, CeFT-style transition planning expertise, and recurring-fee model.

Broad incumbents

• Carson Wealth: Large national RIA platform serving HNW individuals with comprehensive wealth management and financial planning services. Comparable fee-only fiduciary model at significantly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Creative Planning: Large national fee-only RIA offering comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and wealth services to HNW clients. Comparable comprehensive planning-led model, far larger AUM and geographic reach.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: National fee-based RIA providing comprehensive financial planning, investment management, tax, and estate services to HNW individuals and families. Comparable in fiduciary orientation and breadth of planning-led offerings.
• Edelman Financial Engines: One of the largest independent RIAs in the U.S., offering fee-only financial planning and investment management to individuals and corporate plans. Comparable fiduciary, fee-only positioning at massive scale.

Others

• Focus Financial Partners: Leading partnership platform for independent, fee-only wealth management firms. Comparable in fiduciary, fee-only RIA orientation but serves as a roll-up acquirer/partner rather than a direct competitor; relevant context for partnership or exit pathways.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/northstarfp
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@northstarfinancialplanning
• Facebookfacebook.com/northstarfp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northstar-financial-planning

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 Northstar Financial Planning