Lamplighters Investment Advisors

What Lamplighters Investment Advisors does

Lamplighters Investment Advisors is a privately held Registered Investment Advisor based in Charlottesville, Virginia, that provides investment management, retirement, and financial planning services to affluent individual clients with a $25,000 minimum account threshold. The firm is led by principal advisor Richard Keffert and operates a fee-based fiduciary advisory model with a tiered fee schedule (1.0% on accounts under $100,000, stepping down to 0.5% on accounts of $3 million or more), supplemented by commission-based services when appropriate. Portfolio management is delivered through LPL Financial's Strategic Asset Management (SAM) platform using mutual funds and ETFs under a buy-and-hold strategy; the firm offers no proprietary technology stack. Differentiation is sought through a values-driven positioning, including a Sustainable Investing/ESG offering and carbon-neutral business operations (achieved in 2018 via offset purchases supporting the Ethiopia Clean Water Project). The firm holds AAMS, FINRA, and SIPC credentials through its LPL affiliation and is registered to serve clients in 16 U.S. states, distributing services directly via its website, phone, and email channels.

Name

Lamplighters Investment Advisors

Legal name

Lamplighters Investment Advisors

Website

https://lamplightersinvestmentadvisors.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lamplighters Investment Advisors is a Charlottesville, Virginia-based Registered Investment Advisor providing fee-based investment management, retirement, and financial planning services to affluent individual clients across 16 U.S. states, led by principal advisor Richard Keffert via LPL Financial's platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Advisory Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Portfolio Management–Led RIAs (Discretionary/Model-Based) (FSAAACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Financial Planning–Led RIAs (FSAAACAB), Broker-Dealer Affiliated Wealth Advisory (FSAEABAB)

Keywords

• Investment advisory services
• Retirement planning
• Financial planning services
• Sustainable investing
• Wealth management

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlottesville

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. Fee-Based Advisory Services: The firm operates on a fee-based model where clients pay a percentage of assets under management (AUM). Fee rates decrease as account balance increases, ranging from 1.0% for accounts $25,000-$99,999 down to 0.5% for accounts $3,000,000 and above. The firm also offers commission-based services if more suitable for the client. Revenue is generated through advisory fees based on client assets managed in the SAM platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Lamplighters Investment Advisors provides fee-based investment management, retirement, and financial planning services to individual clients with a $25,000 minimum. The firm constructs and manages client portfolios using LPL Financial's Strategic Asset Management (SAM) and SAM2 platforms with mutual funds and ETFs, and offers an optional sustainable/ESG investing approach as a differentiated offering.

Product overview

Lamplighters Investment Advisors operates as a fee-based financial advisory firm offering investment management and planning services. The core offering consists of Strategic Asset Management (SAM), a fee-based platform that uses mutual funds and ETFs for buy-and-hold investing with tiered fees ranging from 0.5% to 1.0% based on account size. The firm also offers commission-based services as an alternative when more suitable. A specialized module, Sustainable Investing, provides ESG-focused investment options including carbon-neutral business practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Asset Management (SAM) Fee-based investment platform through which Lamplighters manages client portfolios using mutual funds under a buy-and-hold strategy, with tiered AUM-based fees for accounts starting at $25,000.
• Fee-Based Advisory Services Investment fiduciary services for individual clients in which the advisor charges percentage-based fees on assets under management and aligns interests with the client by avoiding incentives for frequent trading.
• Commission-Based Services Alternative transaction-based compensation model offered to clients when it is more suitable than the fee-based approach, providing flexibility based on client needs and selected investment products.
• Sustainable Investing ESG-focused investment offering that incorporates environmental, social, and governance criteria into portfolio construction, paired with the firm's carbon-neutral business practices and support for clean water projects.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Betterment: Leading robo-advisor offering automated fee-based portfolio management with low minimums; comparable as a fee-based AUM advisory using model portfolios, with overlapping target client of self-directed affluent individuals who want professional management.
• Wealthfront: Automated investment advisory offering fee-based portfolio management with ETF-based model portfolios; competes for the same fee-based, model-driven advisory relationships that Lamplighters offers, particularly at the lower end of the AUM spectrum.
• Facet Wealth: Digital-first fee-only financial planning firm serving mass-affluent clients remotely; comparable as a tech-enabled, low-minimum fiduciary advisory targeting a similar affluent-but-not-UHNW segment that Lamplighters serves.

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Wealth Services: Fidelity's wealth management division offers fee-based portfolio management and financial planning to individuals across the U.S.; comparable as a fee-based fiduciary provider to affluent investors, with a much broader platform and proprietary technology.
• Edward Jones: Large national broker-dealer and wealth advisory firm serving individual investors with personalized financial planning; comparable to Lamplighters in offering fee-based advisory to mass-affluent clients, though far larger in scale and branch footprint.
• Mercer Advisors: National RIA providing comprehensive fee-based wealth management and financial planning to affluent and HNW clients; comparable in fiduciary, planning-led advisory model, but operates at significantly greater scale and through an active M&A roll-up strategy.
• Merrill Lynch Wealth Management: Wirehouse wealth manager providing fee-based advisory, retirement planning, and ESG options to affluent clients; comparable in service mix and fiduciary positioning, though operating at substantially larger scale under Bank of America.
• Charles Schwab Wealth Advisory: Schwab's advisory arm delivers fee-based portfolio management and financial planning using model portfolios on its own custody platform; comparable to Lamplighters in fee-based AUM model and use of model-based discretionary management.

Direct peers

• Cetera Financial Group: Independent broker-dealer and RIA platform supporting independent advisors with fee-based advisory and model portfolios; directly comparable as an independent advisor affiliated with a larger broker-dealer/RIA platform, similar in structure to Lamplighters' LPL affiliation.
• Vanguard Personal Advisor Services: Vanguard's hybrid robo-plus-advisor service offers fee-based advice on mutual funds and ETFs with low account minimums; directly comparable to Lamplighters' SAM-based fee-based advisory using similar mutual fund/ETF vehicles, but at much lower fee points.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Lamplighters Investment Advisors