EFFPA

What EFFPA does

Educators First Financial of Pennsylvania (EFFPA), legally Educators First Financial of Pennsylvania, LLC, is a fiduciary financial advisory firm headquartered in Limerick, Pennsylvania. The firm specializes in retirement and financial planning for public school employees, with particular depth in the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS), advising members on pension elections, survivor benefits, and retirement timing. Service lines include investment management (stocks, bonds, IRAs, annuities), insurance (disability, life, long-term care), and comprehensive financial planning (tax, estate, college, 403(b)/401(k)). Securities are offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., and advisory services through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc. — EFFPA operates as an independent firm not affiliated with Cambridge.

EFFPA serves clients across 41 school districts in 7 Pennsylvania counties and 14 additional states, with operations regulatorily limited to CT, DE, FL, GA, MA, MD, MN, NC, NJ, PA, and SC. The team is small (1-10 employees) and led by founders William P. Lorenz (President & CEO) and Melissa Lorenz (Vice President / COO), supported by Financial Advisors including Isidore Ogoussan (CFP, ChFC). In 2025, EFFPA entered a strategic partnership with Allied Financial Advisors (AFA), expanding capacity and bringing additional credentialed advisors (Grant Holdren, Christopher Lyman) into the operation.

The business model combines fee-based advisory, transaction commissions on securities, and insurance product commissions, with pricing delivered via complimentary initial consultations followed by quote-based engagements. Go-to-market is sales-led and community-driven, leveraging content marketing (resource center, monthly e-newsletter, video library, calculators), school-district relationships, and preferred partner referrals (e.g., Choice Care Senior Benefits, Coaching To Grow). Technology is industry-standard third-party tooling — interactive financial planning software and client portals (CIRStatements/Wove, Wealthscape, ShareFile) — with no proprietary platform or AI capability disclosed.

Name

EFFPA

Legal name

Educators First Financial of Pennsylvania, LLC

Website

https://effpa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EFFPA is a fiduciary financial advisory firm specializing in retirement and financial planning for Pennsylvania public school employees, with deep expertise in the PSERS pension system. It serves clients across 41 PA districts and 14 additional states through fee-based advisory, securities, and insurance products distributed via Cambridge Investment Research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Advisory and Retirement Planning Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Educational Services (611)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Services & Insurance (FINRA, CFP, IAR, Insurance CE) (EDAAALAJ)

Keywords

• Financial advisory services
• Retirement planning
• Pension maximization
• Wealth management
• PSERS advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Limerick

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Financial Advisory Services: Fee-based and/or commission-based financial advisory services. Securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. (Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC). Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Independent firm able to offer wide variety of financial solutions.
2. Investment Products: Facilitates investment products including bonds, common stock, IRAs (Traditional, Roth, SEP, Simple), brokerage accounts, Treasury Bills & Notes, government securities, and annuities. Revenue generated through securities transactions and product sales.
3. Insurance Products: Offers insurance products including disability income insurance, life insurance, and long-term-care insurance. Revenue through insurance product sales and potentially commissions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Educators First Financial of Pennsylvania (EFFPA) is an independent, fiduciary financial advisory firm that provides investment services, insurance products, and comprehensive financial planning to public school employees and other individuals. The firm specializes in helping Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) members navigate pension elections, survivor benefit options, and retirement timing as part of an integrated wealth management strategy. Securities are offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., and advisory services through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc.

Product overview

Educators First Financial of Pennsylvania (EFFPA) is a fiduciary financial advisory firm offering a unified suite of financial services focused on public school employees. The firm provides investment management (stocks, bonds, IRAs, annuities), insurance products (life, disability, long-term-care), and comprehensive financial planning (retirement, tax, estate, college). The firm specializes in PSERS (Public School Employees Retirement System) advisory services, helping educators navigate pension elections and retirement decisions. Client access is facilitated through third-party portals (CIRStatements, Wealthscape, ShareFile) for account management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investment Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving clients across 41 districts in 7 Pennsylvania counties and 14 other states

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Allied Financial Advisors (AFA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025In 2025, Educators First Financial proudly partnered with Allied Financial Advisors (AFA), marking an exciting new chapter for both organizations and the clients served. The partnership strengthens the shared mission of providing trusted, high-quality financial guidance while expanding the resources available to clients. EFFPA team members include Grant Holdren (President of AFA, CFP, CLU), Christopher Lyman (Financial Planner, CFP, ChFC), Linda Roth (Vice President of Operations), Lauran Parson (Client Service Manager), Carly Pannella (Marketing Coordinator), and Jean Walton (Client Service Professional).
• Joseph Carney / Choice Care Senior BenefitsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPreferred partner offering specialized expertise in Medicare guidance. Joseph Carney is the founder of Choice Care Senior Benefits, an independent insurance agency specializing in Medicare solutions. The agency represents 8 organizations offering 52 products in the Medicare space. Joseph has developed extensive expertise in the health insurance industry from his career with a Fortune 250 insurance carrier.
• Tracy Shunkwiler / Coaching To GrowminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPreferred partner offering specialized expertise in personal financial coaching. Tracy Shunkwiler is a Master Financial Coach and owner/CEO of Coaching To Grow, established in 2013. She specializes in helping clients recognize blind spots and current behaviors, bringing financial and personal success. Notable accomplishments include being in the Top 5% of successful Financial Coaches within Ramsey Solutions Worldwide coaches.
• Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSecurities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Educators First Financial of Pennsylvania, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Provides regulatory infrastructure and brokerage services for securities transactions.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Broad incumbents

• Corebridge Financial (formerly VALIC): Large retirement-services provider (VALIC brand) historically focused on K-12 and higher-education employees with 403(b)/457 plans and retirement planning. Addresses the same public-school employee retirement planning need as EFFPA.
• TIAA: Large, education-sector-focused financial services provider offering retirement planning, IRAs, annuities, and investment products to educators and academic institutions. Differs in scale and direct-to-employer offering model but addresses the same educator financial-planning jobs-to-be-done.
• Horace Mann: Insurance and financial services firm specifically targeting educators and public-school employees; offers retirement, 403(b), and life insurance products. Direct overlap on customer segment (educators) with EFFPA's niche.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Largest independent RIA in the U.S., offering retirement-income planning, investment management, and financial planning to mass-affluent and educator-clientele. Competes indirectly for PSERS members nationwide with greater scale and digital planning tools.
• Fidelity Wealth Services: Large retail investment provider whose Wealthscape platform EFFPA clients use. Competes indirectly with EFFPA on retirement-planning services for high-balance households, including educators.

Direct peers

• Allied Financial Advisors (AFA): Partner firm since 2025 whose team (Grant Holdren as President, Christopher Lyman CFP/ChFC, Linda Roth) is now jointly serving EFFPA clients. Operates a small RIA model with overlapping financial-planning and retirement-income services, making it the closest functional comparable.
• Choice Care Senior Benefits: Preferred partner of EFFPA specializing in Medicare-related insurance products. Comparable boutique financial-services firm with narrow specialization and educator/senior-adjacent clientele.
• 1847Financial: Small-to-mid RIA where team member Christopher Lyman started his career in 2011. Comparable as a multi-advisor financial-planning practice serving individual/household clients with retirement and wealth-management services.

Others

• Cambridge Investment Research: EFFPA's broker-dealer and RIA partner providing regulatory and execution infrastructure. Peer-like as the affiliated IBD model used by thousands of independent advisor teams including EFFPA.
• Cetera Financial Group: Large independent broker-dealer/RIA platform supporting thousands of small independent advisors in offering investment and retirement-planning services. Similar to Cambridge (EFFPA's broker-dealer), serving as an indirect peer via shared infrastructure economics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/effpa_eu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 EFFPA