What GPS Financial does

GPS Financial is a privately held, family-owned financial advisory firm headquartered in Othello, Washington, founded in 1987 by Robert Ashton. The firm specializes in helping multi-generational family businesses transition into "business families" through its proprietary 100-Year Vision Process—a five-step methodology comprising an Onsite Visit, a 100-Year Vision interview, Presentation of Solutions, Plan Activation, and ongoing Plan Stewardship. The firm's service portfolio is organized around four core offerings: Family Succession Planning, Business Succession Planning, Risk Management, and Insurance Advisory, all delivered through a relationship-driven, consultative sales model in which advisors conduct onsite visits to understand client operations and culture before proposing solutions.

The firm generates revenue through professional services fees tied to engagement scope and complexity, with no standardized pricing publicly disclosed. It operates without proprietary technology infrastructure, distinguishing itself instead on its planning methodology, multi-generational family legacy, and credentials of its advisory team. The leadership consists entirely of members of the Ashton family—founder Robert Ashton (LTCP), Todd Ashton, Tony Ashton (RFC, CLU), and Stephen Ashton (CFP™)—who collectively bring decades of experience in financial services and family business transitions. Marketing relies on professional network referrals and membership in industry organizations including MDRT, Top of the Table, The Forum 400, Strategic Coach Program, Empowered Wealth, and Entrepreneurs Matter.

The firm serves a single vertical: family business owners in the United States seeking succession planning, buy/sell structuring, estate and financial planning, multi-generational wealth transfer, and risk management. Its only publicly linked affiliated entity is GPS Investments (gpsinv.com), suggesting an adjacent investment advisory capability outside the core succession practice. No funding rounds, acquisitions, or partnerships have been disclosed, and the firm operates from a single domestic office.

Name

GPS Financial

Legal name

GPS Financial

Website

https://generationalplanningstrategies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Family Business Succession and Wealth Preservation Advisory

NAICS

Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (524210), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Risk Management & Insurance Advisory for Families (FSAAADAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Personal & Family Trust Services (FSAAANAA)

Keywords

• Family business succession
• Estate conservation planning
• Wealth preservation advisory
• Risk management consulting
• Insurance advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

Othello

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Financial Advisory Services: GPS Financial generates revenue through financial advisory and consulting services including Family Succession Planning, Business Succession Planning, Risk Management, and Insurance Advisory. The firm provides ongoing planning services rather than one-time transactions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

GPS Financial is a family financial advisory practice that helps family business owners plan the succession, protection, and multi-generational transition of their businesses and wealth. It delivers Family Succession Planning, Business Succession Planning, Risk Management, and Insurance Advisory services through its proprietary 100-Year Vision Process, which combines onsite visits, vision interviews, solution presentations, plan activation, and ongoing stewardship. The firm operates on a relationship-driven, consultative model serving clients primarily in the United States from its Othello, Washington headquarters.

Product overview

GPS Financial is a relationship-driven family financial services firm offering a unified service portfolio centered on its proprietary 100-Year Vision Process. The core offerings include Family Succession Planning, Business Succession Planning, Risk Management, and Insurance Advisory, all designed to help family businesses transition into multi-generational 'business families.' The 100-Year Vision Process serves as the overarching methodology that ties all services together through five stages: Onsite Visit, 100-Year Vision interview, Presentation of Solutions, Plan Activation, and Plan Stewardship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Family Succession Planning Estate and financial planning delivered as an ongoing process through the 100-Year Vision methodology, building sustainable family culture and ongoing family leadership for family business clients.
• Business Succession Planning Advisory assistance structuring the transition and/or sale of a family business through buy/sell agreements and other financial transactions, facilitating ownership and transfer of business interests.
• Risk Management Guidance on advanced risk management strategies for family business ownership, addressing downside risks associated with owning and transferring a family business.
• Insurance Advisory A full spectrum of insurance planning solutions using financial tools to Protect, Preserve, and Promote the family legacy for family business owners.
• 100-Year Vision Process A proprietary five-step advisory methodology (Onsite Visit, 100-Year Vision interview, Presentation of Solutions, Plan Activation, Plan Stewardship) that helps families transition from a family business to a business family and preserve priorities 100 years into the future.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of family businesses fail by the 3rd generation; GPS Financial helps clients become part of the 10% that succeed

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

Broad incumbents

• Northern Trust Wealth Management: A large, established wealth manager serving HNW and ultra-HNW families with succession, estate, investment, and trust services. Comparable target customer (multi-generational family wealth), but Northern Trust is a broad incumbent offering a full platform rather than a focused succession advisory.
• BNY Mellon Wealth Management: A major wealth manager serving affluent families with investment management, trust and estate administration, and family-office services. Overlaps with GPS Financial on the succession and estate planning dimension but operates as a broad, multi-product incumbent.
• Edelman Financial Engines: One of the largest independent financial advisory firms in the U.S., serving individuals and families with financial planning, investment management, and insurance. Comparable as a large-scale family-focused advisory, though Edelman's offering is far broader and more technology-driven than GPS Financial's.

Direct peers

• Bessemer Trust: One of the largest multi-generational family offices in the U.S., explicitly focused on helping wealthy families preserve and transfer wealth across generations. Directly comparable to GPS Financial's 100-Year Vision mission and family-business succession orientation, though at vastly larger scale and with full investment, trust, and tax capabilities.
• The Colony Group: A national RIA and multi-family office serving HNW families and family businesses with wealth advisory, succession planning, and family-office services. Closely mirrors GPS Financial's niche and methodology, with broader geographic reach.
• Aspiriant: An RIA focused on HNW individuals and families, providing integrated wealth planning, tax, and investment advice across generations. Directly comparable as a fee-only advisory firm addressing multi-generational family wealth, though Aspiriant is significantly larger and tech-enabled.
• Abbot Downing (Wells Fargo): Wells Fargo's ultra-high-net-worth arm serving multi-generational families with integrated wealth planning, investment, trust, and banking services. Directly comparable in serving family-business succession and legacy preservation, but operates nationally with a full multi-disciplinary service set that GPS lacks.
• Savant Wealth Management: An independent RIA serving HNW families, business owners, and foundations with financial planning, investment, and tax services. Closely comparable in serving family-business owners and emphasizing comprehensive, ongoing planning rather than one-off transactions.
• The Family Business Consulting Group: A consulting firm exclusively focused on advising family businesses on succession, governance, and continuity planning. Directly comparable to GPS Financial's narrow focus on family-business transitions, but positioned as a consulting/advisory practice rather than an insurance-and-financial-advisory firm.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: A national wealth advisory firm that has grown aggressively through acquisitions of advisor practices, providing financial planning, investment, tax, and estate services to families and business owners. Comparable in target client and family-business focus, but operates a scaled multi-office platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 GPS Financial