Independence Investment Associates & Services

What Independence Investment Associates & Services does

Independence Investment Associates & Services (IIAS) was a privately-held boutique financial advisory practice founded in 1984, headquartered in Livonia, Michigan. The firm offered a single core product — financial planning and investment advisory services tailored to retirees — delivered through direct, personal advisor-client relationships, with a stated customer segment of retirees and individuals planning for retirement. Distribution was relationship-based rather than channel-based, and there is no evidence of productized offerings, technology platforms, or proprietary tooling beyond a simple Network Solutions-hosted website (iias.us) used primarily for client communication.

Operationally, the firm was tiny (1-10 employees) and founder-owned by Kelvin Chen. There is no disclosed pricing, fee schedule, AUM, revenue, or funding history; revenue mechanics would have been conventional fee-based advisory income, but no figures are public. The firm's technology stack is minimal: Google Analytics for usage tracking and Cloudflare for security, with standard cookie-based analytics. There are no integrations with custodian platforms, planning software, or CRM systems disclosed, and no AI/ML capabilities are referenced.

The practice has effectively ceased independent operations. Following founder Kelvin Chen's retirement, IIAS officially merged its practice into RWS Financial Group (28555 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 100, Farmington Hills, MI 48334; 833 797-4636; [email protected]). The iias.us domain is retained only to redirect former clients to RWS for ongoing planning and service. Operating status is therefore best characterized as acquired/merged, with the standalone IIAS entity having no independent forward trajectory.

Name

Independence Investment Associates & Services

Legal name

Independence Investment Associates & Services

Website

https://iias.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Independence Investment Associates & Services was a small, founder-owned Michigan financial advisory practice founded in 1984, offering retirement-focused financial planning to individual retirees; the firm has ceased independent operations following founder Kelvin Chen's retirement and merger with RWS Financial Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retirement Financial Advisory

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Retirement & Distribution Planning RIAs (401(k)/IRA/Pension Rollovers) (FSAAACAE)

Keywords

• Financial planning services
• Retirement planning
• Investment advisory
• Wealth management
• Personal financial advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Livonia

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, Others

Core offering

Independence Investment Associates & Services provided personal financial planning and investment advisory services targeted at retirees and pre-retirees. Following the founder's retirement, the practice merged with RWS Financial Group, which now serves as the operating entity handling all planning and service issues for former IIAS clients from its Farmington Hills, MI office.

Product overview

Independence Investment Associates & Services (IIAS) was a single-offering financial services firm specializing in retirement planning. The principal has retired and merged the practice with RWS Financial Group, which now handles all planning and service operations for existing clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Planning Services for Retirees Personal financial advisory and retirement planning services designed for retirees and pre-retirees, including investment advice and ongoing financial management. Following the principal's retirement, services for former IIAS clients are now handled through RWS Financial Group.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• RWS Financial GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIIAS has officially merged its practice with RWS Financial Group following the retirement of IIAS founder Kelvin Chen. RWS Financial Group, located at 28555 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 100, Farmington Hills, MI 48334, now handles all planning and service issues for former IIAS clients. The contact phone is 833 797-4636 and email is [email protected].

Recent moves3 records

Broad incumbents

• Cambridge Investment Research: Independent advisor platform supporting small and mid-sized financial advisory practices with retirement planning and investment management services; comparable to the type of platform that could absorb a practice like IIAS.
• Edward Jones: Branch-based national advisory network with strong orientation toward mass-affluent and retiree clients delivering personal financial planning and investment advice; directly comparable client profile to IIAS's retiree focus.
• Ameriprise Financial: Large national financial advisory firm with a substantial retiree-focused advisor base offering investment advisory and retirement planning services; overlaps IIAS's core offering at greater scale and geographic reach.
• Northwestern Mutual: National provider of financial planning, investment advisory, and retirement income solutions through a captive advisor network; overlaps IIAS's retiree-centric advisory value proposition.
• Waddell & Reed (now part of Macquarie): Long-established financial advisory firm focused on retail and retiree clients with financial planning and investment management services; comparable legacy retirement-advisory positioning to IIAS.
• Cetera Financial Group: Independent broker-dealer and RIA platform supporting independent financial advisors serving retirement and wealth planning clients; comparable as an umbrella for small advisory practices of IIAS's size and orientation.
• Fisher Investments: Large independent investment adviser primarily serving high-net-worth and retiree households with discretionary portfolio management; comparable investment-advice functionality for IIAS's retiree segment at much greater scale.
• Vanguard Personal Advisor Services: Vanguard's hybrid robo-plus-human advisory service targeting retirement savers and retirees with investment planning and ongoing advice; comparable end-customer persona with a different (more digital) delivery model.
• Charles Schwab Personal Advisor Services: Schwab's advisory offering delivering personalized investment advice and retirement planning to retail and retiree clients; comparable client base and core service mix to IIAS's retirement advisory practice.

Direct peers

• RWS Financial Group: The merger partner that absorbed IIAS's practice; a Michigan-based financial advisory firm offering retirement and personal financial planning services to a comparable retiree client base, making it the closest direct comparable for IIAS's former offering.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Independence Investment Associates & Services