Berla Investment Consulting

What Berla Investment Consulting does

Berla Investment Consulting is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisory firm founded in 1984 by George A. Berla, CFA, and headquartered in Alamo, California. The firm operates as a fee-only fiduciary consultant, providing personalized investment advice to high-net-worth individuals and families as well as institutional clients, and reports advisory responsibility over client assets in excess of $1.6 billion. The firm is led by two principals — founder George A. Berla and Corey Berla, CFA, who joined in 2011 — with the broader team reported at 1-10 employees, positioning Berla as a boutique practice.

The firm's service model is built around individualized, fiduciary investment consulting rather than discretionary asset management, and it does not operate a proprietary technology platform. Investment analysis relies on standard third-party data and tools, including Morningstar, U.S. Treasury data, and SEC filings, with the analytical framework reflecting the principals' backgrounds in finance, operations research, and computer science. Core deliverables include portfolio evaluation, asset allocation guidance, manager selection, and ongoing investment counsel aligned with each client's goals and risk tolerance.

The business model is fee-only, compensated directly by clients for advisory services, with revenue mechanics tied to the size and complexity of client engagements rather than transaction commissions. Clients are served on a personalized basis with a small, principal-led team, and the firm is privately held by its founders. There is no public indication of new fund flows, geographic expansion, or platform investment beyond the existing two-principal structure, which both underscores the boutique character of the practice and concentrates revenue continuity on key client relationships and principal involvement.

Name

Berla Investment Consulting

Legal name

Berla Investment Consulting

Website

https://berlainv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Berla Investment Consulting is an independent, SEC-registered, fee-only investment advisory firm founded in 1984, providing personalized fiduciary consulting to high-net-worth individuals, families, and institutional clients across assets exceeding $1.6 billion.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Advisory

NAICS

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

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional Consultants & Fiduciary Management (Investment Consulting) (FSAAAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Institutional Consulting RIAs (OCIO/Endowments/Foundations/Pensions) (FSAAACAG), Portfolio Construction & Asset Allocation Advisory (FSAEAAAC), Advisory Portfolio Management (Non-Discretionary) (FSAAABAD)

Keywords

• Investment advisory services
• Wealth management consulting
• Asset allocation strategy
• Tax efficient investing
• Performance measurement services

Headquarters

HQ city

Walnut Creek

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Advisory Fees: Revenue generated from providing independent investment consulting services to clients. As an SEC-registered investment advisor acting as a fiduciary, the firm likely earns fees based on assets under management (AUM) or fixed advisory retainers. The firm serves clients with total assets in excess of $1.6 billion.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Berla Investment Consulting is an SEC-registered independent investment consulting firm founded in 1984. Acting as a fiduciary under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, the firm provides independent investment advisory and consulting services including asset allocation, tax-efficient investing, and performance measurement and evaluation for clients. The firm currently serves as independent investment consultant on total client assets in excess of $1.6 billion.

Product overview

Berla Investment Consulting is an independent investment consulting firm offering advisory services. Founded in 1984 by George Berla, CFA, the firm provides investment consulting to clients and is registered with the SEC as an investment advisor under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940. The firm operates as a single-service consulting practice with no distinct product modules or platform offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Independent Investment Consulting Services SEC-registered investment advisory and consulting services acting as a fiduciary to clients under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940. The firm provides independent, conflict-free investment consulting, portfolio management oversight, and investment policy guidance to high-net-worth individuals, families, and institutional investors.
• Asset Allocation Services Investment strategy services providing asset allocation guidance tailored to client goals, risk tolerance, time horizon, and prevailing market conditions, delivered as part of the firm's fiduciary investment consulting engagement.
• Tax-Efficient Investing Services Investment advisory services focused on tax-efficient investment strategies designed to optimize after-tax returns for clients through asset location, tax-loss harvesting, and other tax-aware portfolio construction techniques.
• Performance Measurement and Evaluation Services Investment performance assessment services measuring and evaluating portfolio performance against appropriate benchmarks, objectives, and peer comparisons to support ongoing investment decision-making and reporting.

Quantifiable outcome

• $1.6 billion+ in client assets under advisory

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Broad incumbents

• Fisher Investments: Large independent RIA managing discretionary portfolios for HNW and institutional clients. Comparable to Berla in independent, fee-only RIA model serving HNW segments, though at much greater scale.
• Wilshire Associates: Investment consulting and advisory firm providing institutional asset allocation, OCIO, and index-related services. Comparable to Berla in investment consulting focus, but operating as a larger incumbent with broader capabilities.
• Mercer Advisors: Large national RIA providing investment advisory, tax, estate, and financial planning services to HNW individuals. Comparable to Berla in fiduciary, fee-only RIA model serving affluent households, though at vastly greater scale and with a broader service menu.
• Aon (Investment Consulting): Global professional services firm with a major investment consulting practice serving institutional clients with OCIO, asset allocation, and fiduciary solutions. Comparable to Berla in serving institutional clients, but operating as a large incumbent.
• Russell Investments: Global investment solutions firm providing OCIO, consulting, and manager research to institutional investors and financial advisors. Comparable to Berla in institutional consulting focus but with a much broader, multi-strategy platform.

Direct peers

• NEPC (New England Pension Consultants): Independent investment consulting firm serving pensions, endowments, foundations, and HNW families. Closely comparable to Berla in independent fiduciary consulting model targeting similar institutional segments.
• Meketa Investment Group: Independent investment consulting firm serving public pensions, endowments, foundations, and OCIO mandates. Closely comparable to Berla as an independent institutional consulting practice serving similar client segments.
• Cambridge Associates: Independent investment consulting firm serving institutional investors (endowments, foundations, pensions) and HNW families with asset allocation and manager research. Directly comparable to Berla's institutional consulting model, though operating at much larger scale.
• Verus Investments: Independent investment consulting firm providing institutional clients with investment advisory, OCIO, and manager research services. Comparable to Berla in independent institutional consulting model.
• Marquette Associates: Independent, employee-owned investment consulting firm serving institutional clients with asset allocation and manager research. Direct peer to Berla's institutional investment consulting practice, serving similar client types.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

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 Berla Investment Consulting