Certa Financial Planning

What Certa Financial Planning does

Certa Financial Planning is an independent, privately-held Registered Investment Advisor founded in 2019 by German M. Ramirez, CFP®, and headquartered in South Miami, Florida, with a second office serving the North Jersey / NYC Metro Area. The firm delivers fee-based wealth advisory services through three productized tiers — Financial Planning Only, Investment Advisory, and Comprehensive Wealth Advisory — covering retirement income planning, risk tolerance assessment, insurance needs analysis, tax-aware planning, estate planning, and ongoing portfolio construction and rebalancing. It also offers Business Consulting for small business owners covering company retirement plans, executive compensation, and succession strategies, and acts as a selling and servicing agent for life, health, disability, and annuity insurance products, earning separate customary commissions. Certa's revenue model combines AUM-based advisory fees (0.50% on portfolios over $10M up to 1.25% on portfolios under $500K), $250/hour planning engagements with a 2-hour minimum, and insurance commissions.

Certa operates on Independent Financial Partners' (IFP) broker-dealer and RIA platform for compliance, technology, and operational support, while custodying client assets at Charles Schwab and Fidelity and using eMoney for client-facing financial planning and portfolio analysis. Service delivery combines quarterly/semi-annual face-to-face reviews with virtual consultations, supported by content marketing (blog, monthly YouTube market updates, LinkedIn, email). The firm holds registrations to transact in 13 states (FL, CO, CT, KY, MT, NJ, NC, OH, OR, SC, TX, CA, IL) and has a leadership team of three CFP® professionals — German Ramirez (Founder/MD, 20+ years experience including Charles Schwab, SunTrust, AXA-Equitable, Mass Mutual, and BluePrint Wealth Alliance), Steven Balch (Director of FP & Wealth Management, joined 2022 from Charles Schwab where he managed $1B+), and Christopher Callaway (Head of Business Development, joined 2024 from Charles Schwab's Schwab Advisor Network).

Name

Certa Financial Planning

Legal name

Certa Financial Planning

Website

https://certaplanning.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Certa Financial Planning is an independent, privately-held RIA founded in 2019 that delivers fee-based financial planning, investment management, insurance, and business consulting to families, professionals, and small business owners in South Florida and the North Jersey / NYC Metro Area, operating on IFP's platform with custody at Schwab and Fidelity.

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

Financial Planning–Led RIAs (FSAAACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Comprehensive Financial Planning (FSAEAAAA), Retirement Income Planning & Decumulation Advisory (FSAEABAD), Estate & Legacy Planning Advisory (FSAEAAAG)

Keywords

• Financial planning services
• Wealth management advisory
• Investment management services
• Retirement income planning
• Portfolio advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

Coral Gables

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advisory Fees (AUM-Based): Fee-based advisory services charged as a percentage of assets under management. Tiers range from 1.25% for portfolios up to $500K down to 0.50% for portfolios over $10M.
2. Financial Planning - Hourly: $250 per hour for limited engagements with a minimum of 2 hours. Flat fee engagements negotiated on a case-by-case basis.
3. Insurance Commissions: Acting as selling and servicing agents for insurance products (Life, Health, Disability & Annuity), receiving separate customary commission compensation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Certa Financial Planning is an independent registered investment advisory firm that delivers personalized financial planning, investment management, insurance planning, and business consulting services to high-net-worth individuals, families, professionals, and small business owners. Services are organized into engagement levels—Financial Planning Only, Investment Advisory, and Comprehensive Wealth Advisory—delivered by CFP® professionals and supported through the Independent Financial Partners (IFP) platform. Core planning covers retirement income, risk tolerance, insurance needs, tax-aware planning, estate planning, and cash flow review, with portfolio construction and ongoing monitoring under the investment management offering.

Product overview

Certa Financial Planning offers a suite of financial advisory services organized into three service tiers: Financial Planning Only (focused advisory without portfolio management), Investment Advisory (disciplined portfolio management with core planning), and Comprehensive Wealth Advisory (full-service long-term advisory combining all capabilities). The firm provides core services including Financial Planning, Insurance Planning, Investment Management, and Business Consulting, all delivered through CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professionals using a technology-focused financial planning and investment monitoring approach. The company leverages Independent Financial Partners (IFP) for technological, compliance, and operational support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Planning Hands-on advice from a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional to help solidify, plan, and implement a fully customized personal financial plan. Covers retirement income planning, risk tolerance and portfolio review, insurance needs evaluation, tax-aware planning, corporate benefits optimization, estate planning review, and cash flow review for individuals and families.
• Insurance Planning Insurance planning services designed to insulate client finances from potentially devastating life events, including life insurance, disability insurance, health insurance, and long-term care insurance, plus annuity products. The firm acts as selling and servicing agent and receives customary commissions on placements.
• Investment Management Professionally managed portfolio integration that adapts to clients' specific needs and objectives across all life stages. Includes portfolio construction, rebalancing, risk tolerance and return alignment, ongoing portfolio monitoring, and retirement strategy support, delivered through Certa's next-generation portfolio strategy framework with assets custodied at Charles Schwab and Fidelity.
• Business Consulting Business planning services for small business owners covering tax and succession strategies, company retirement plans, executive compensation programs, and ongoing operational and compliance support. Designed to be delivered collaboratively with the client's other professional advisors.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Independent Financial Partners (IFP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCerta Financial Planning has partnered with Independent Financial Partners (IFP) to provide technological, compliance, and operational support. Through this alliance, Certa has access to a wide variety of tools and resources to support plan sponsors, plan participants, and private investors. IFP fully supports advisor independence and provides access to a network of financial advisors and subject matter experts across the nation. IFP is a broker-dealer and registered investment adviser based in Tampa, Florida.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Creative Planning: One of the largest independent RIAs in the U.S., offering holistic wealth management, tax, estate, and business planning for affluent households — directly analogous service mix to Certa's Comprehensive Wealth Advisory tier.
• Schwab Wealth Advisory: Charles Schwab's in-house wealth advisory service for clients with significant investable assets. Highly comparable because several Certa team members came from Schwab and now compete against it.
• Northwestern Mutual: Large established financial services firm offering insurance, investment, and planning products through captive advisors — overlaps with Certa's bundled insurance/wealth advisory approach.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Large independent RIA combining human advisors with technology-driven planning, serving a broad mass-affluent to HNW base — overlaps with Certa on planning-led, fee-based delivery.
• Carson Group: National network of independent financial advisors providing wealth management, business consulting, and practice-management support — comparable comprehensive offering and partnership-style operating model.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Large national independent RIA serving HNW and ultra-HNW clients with comprehensive financial planning, tax, estate, and business advisory — same comprehensive offering as Certa but at significantly greater scale.
• Vanguard Personal Advisor Services: Low-fee hybrid advisory service from Vanguard combining digital tools with human advisors — represents the fee-compression benchmark that all independent RIAs, including Certa, must compete against.

Direct peers

• Personal Capital (Empower Personal Dashboard): Hybrid robo-advisor and human advisory platform serving HNW individuals with comprehensive planning, investment management, and retirement tools — overlaps with Certa's wealth advisory offering.
• Facet Wealth: Tech-enabled independent RIA offering flat-fee financial planning and investment management to mass-affluent and HNW households nationally — directly comparable to Certa's planning-led, fee-based model.

Emerging players

• Betterment: Tech-first wealth management platform offering automated and hybrid advisory services to mass-affluent consumers — competes with Certa at the lower end of the wealth spectrum with a fundamentally different cost structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCBeiepSG1lnbIDOvJhAmKVA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/certa-financial-planning

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Certa Financial Planning