Blankenship Financial Planning

What Blankenship Financial Planning does

Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd. is a privately held, fee-only Registered Investment Advisory firm founded in 2003 by Jim Blankenship and headquartered at 116 West Illinois Street, New Berlin, Illinois. The firm provides financial advice, investment management, and tax preparation services to individuals and businesses on an hourly, as-needed basis, with no product sales, commissions, or minimum net worth requirements. Core service lines include retirement planning, investment planning, income tax preparation and IRS representation, Social Security and Medicare guidance, estate planning review, and risk management assessment, delivered under a fiduciary 'No Doubt' model. Revenue is generated through professional services fees quoted upfront and capped per engagement, with the firm explicitly stating it 'sells nothing except advice.'

The firm operates with a two-person principal team (Jim Blankenship and Sterling Raskie), both CFP professionals and Enrolled Agents who are NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisors. Technology stack is non-proprietary and consists of standard industry tools: Schwab for client account access, SecureFilePro for secure document exchange, and conventional financial planning software. Service delivery is consultative and relationship-based, combining in-person meetings at the New Berlin office with location-independent virtual meetings via video and telephone, allowing the firm to serve clients nationwide under Illinois de minimis rules. Marketing is driven by content assets — the 'Getting Your Financial Ducks in a Row' blog, the monthly 'The Hometown Advisor' newsletter, and four books authored by Jim Blankenship on IRA, Social Security, and Medicare topics — supplemented by NAPFA referral networks and professional affiliations. The firm is founder-owned, with no institutional investment or parent holding company.

Name

Blankenship Financial Planning

Legal name

Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd.

Website

https://blankenshipfinancial.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Blankenship Financial Planning is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisory firm in New Berlin, Illinois that provides hourly, as-needed retirement, investment, and tax planning services to individuals nationwide, with no product commissions or minimum net worth requirements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Advisory Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (54121)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Fee-Only Advisory (FSAEAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Comprehensive Financial Planning (FSAEAAAA)

Keywords

• Fee-only financial planning
• Retirement planning services
• Investment advisory services
• Income tax preparation
• Fiduciary financial advice

Headquarters

HQ city

New Berlin

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-Only Financial Planning Services: Blankenship Financial Planning operates on a fee-only basis, receiving compensation exclusively from clients. They do not earn commissions on product sales (no mutual funds, insurance, or annuities). Revenue is generated through hourly, as-needed financial planning engagements where clients receive upfront cost estimates before work begins.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Blankenship Financial Planning is a fee-only registered investment advisory firm that delivers hourly, as-needed financial planning and advice to individuals nationwide. Core services include retirement planning, investment planning, and income tax preparation/IRS representation. The firm operates under a 'No Doubt' model in which it sells nothing except advice — no mutual funds, insurance, or annuities — and charges clients directly without commissions or product sales.

Product overview

Blankenship Financial Planning offers a suite of fee-only financial planning and advisory services centered on its 'No Doubt' Financial Advice model. The core offerings include Retirement Planning, Investment Planning, and Income Tax Preparation, with an optional monthly newsletter called The Hometown Advisor. The firm operates on an hourly, as-needed basis rather than as a platform-plus-modules architecture, providing unbiased advice without selling any financial products. All services are delivered with fiduciary care regardless of client net worth, and the firm supports virtual client engagement nationwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

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.

• National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA)OthersJim Blankenship and Sterling Raskie are NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisors. NAPFA is the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, an organization limited to planners who are strictly Fee-Only, meaning they accept no commissions for their work. This membership is a key differentiator for the firm.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Betterment: Betterment is a robo-advisor offering automated goal-based planning and portfolio management. It competes for the same digitally-engaged mass-affluent audience Blankenship targets, but substitutes algorithm for human advice at a lower price.
• Personal Capital (Empower): Personal Capital, owned by Empower Retirement, is a large digital-first RIA combining automated dashboards with human advisors. It competes with Blankenship for mass-affluent clients but offers branded technology, broader scale, and integrated cash management.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Edelman Financial Engines is one of the largest independent RIAs in the U.S., offering fee-based planning and investment management. It overlaps Blankenship on fiduciary, planning-led advice but at vastly greater scale and breadth of services.
• Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium: Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium is a custodian-scaled hybrid robo-advisor offering automated portfolios plus CFP access. It overlaps Blankenship's retirement-planning focus but with technology scale and a low entry price point Blankenship cannot match.
• Vanguard Personal Advisor Services: Vanguard Personal Advisor Services combines low-cost index portfolios with human CFP advice at low AUM-based fees. It is a scaled incumbent competing for the same retirement-focused, cost-conscious investor that Blankenship serves.

Emerging players

• Ellevest: Ellevest is a digital financial planning and investment platform originally built for women, now offering flat-fee coaching and managed portfolios. It is comparable as a fee-based, planning-led alternative for mass-affluent clients, though its focus segment differs.
• Wealthfront: Wealthfront is a robo-advisor offering automated financial planning and portfolio management. It is comparable as a digitally-delivered, low-fee alternative to traditional planners like Blankenship, particularly for tech-savvy retirement savers.

Direct peers

• XY Planning Network: XY Planning Network is a network of fee-only, hourly financial planners serving Gen X and younger mass-affluent clients virtually. Like Blankenship, members charge flat/hourly fees, sell no products, and require no minimums, making it the closest direct peer in business model and target customer.
• Buckingham Wealth Partners: Buckingham Wealth Partners is a national fee-only RIA offering fiduciary financial planning and investment management. It is a comparably structured fee-only firm serving clients virtually and in-person across multiple states, competing for the same affluent-to-mass-affluent market.
• Facet Wealth: Facet Wealth is a tech-enabled fee-only financial planning firm offering flat-fee virtual advice to mass-affluent households with no AUM minimum. It matches Blankenship on fee-only, no-minimum, virtual delivery and is a direct competitor in the same target segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

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 Blankenship Financial Planning