What Ark Advisors does

Ark Advisors, LLC is a fee-only fiduciary Registered Investment Advisor (CRD# 167456) founded in 2009 and headquartered at 205 N. Williamsburg Dr, Ste E, Bloomington, Illinois. The firm delivers comprehensive financial planning and investment management to individuals, families, retirees, business owners, and employers in the Bloomington-Normal and Central Illinois market. Its service offering is organized around a proprietary, trademarked 5-phase methodology called the Ark Stewardship Process, which coordinates investments, retirement, insurance, tax, and estate planning under a single advisory relationship, and is differentiated by an explicit biblical stewardship philosophy.

The firm's product surface comprises core advisory services (Individuals & Families, Business Owners, Education & Community), a 401(k) and employer retirement plan service line, the ARK Wealth Platform mobile application (iOS and Android) for client portfolio access, a secure Box.com-powered document upload portal, and a confidential discovery questionnaire used during onboarding. Underlying technology is delivered through third-party integrations with TradePMR (custody), CircleBlack (wealth management platform), Capital Group (401(k) participant platform), and Box.com (document security), with the proprietary layer limited to the Ark Stewardship Process methodology and brand identity.

Commercially, Ark Advisors operates on a subscription-style, AUM-based tiered fee schedule (1.50% declining to 0.25% for individuals/families; 0.75% declining to 0.10% for 401(k) plans, plus a $20 per-participant annual charge in one tier), with no commissions or product sales. Distribution is direct-to-client through free 20-30 minute consultations, a 40+ article Knowledge Center optimized for Illinois-specific topics, and relationship-based referrals. The firm is privately held by co-founders Brad Metz and Patrick Vance, with Henry Vance joining as Associate Financial Advisor in 2026.

Name

Ark Advisors

Legal name

ARK Advisors, LLC

Website

https://arkadvisorsllc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ark Advisors is a fee-only fiduciary RIA in Bloomington, Illinois, providing financial planning, investment management, and 401(k) advisory services to individuals, families, business owners, and employers across Central Illinois under its trademarked Ark Stewardship Process.

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

Fee-Only Advisory (FSAEAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Employer Retirement Plan Advisory (401(k)/Pension) (FSAEABAE), Tax-Focused Wealth Management RIAs (FSAAACAD), Estate & Legacy Planning Advisory (FSAEAAAG)

Keywords

• Fee-only financial advisory
• Wealth management services
• Retirement plan advisory
• Fiduciary financial planning
• Investment management firm

Headquarters

HQ city

Bloomington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Assets Under Management (AUM) Advisory Fees: Fee-only fiduciary advisory model where fees are charged as a percentage of assets under management. Tiered pricing structure for both individual/family accounts and employer retirement plans. No commissions or product sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ark Advisors is a fee-only fiduciary Registered Investment Advisor delivering comprehensive financial planning, investment management, retirement and income planning, life/disability/long-term care planning, tax-aware strategies, estate and legacy planning, and college savings for individuals and families. It also provides business owner advisory (succession, exit planning, business financial planning), 401(k)/403(b)/SIMPLE IRA employer retirement plan design and management, and faith-based financial education for churches and schools, all delivered through its proprietary Ark Stewardship Process and supported by a mobile client portal.

Product overview

Ark Advisors is a fee-only fiduciary financial advisory firm offering a unified suite of wealth management services built around its proprietary Ark Stewardship Process™. The core offering combines comprehensive financial planning with investment management, supported by the ARK Wealth Platform mobile app for client portfolio access. Additional services include business owner advisory, employer retirement plan management, and financial education. The firm differentiates through its biblical stewardship philosophy and fee-only compensation model without product commissions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Comprehensive Financial Planning & Investment Management Integrated fee-only advisory service combining comprehensive financial planning, ongoing investment management, retirement and income planning, insurance planning, tax-aware strategies, estate planning, and college savings for individuals, families, and retirees. Delivered through the Ark Stewardship Process and supported by the ARK Wealth Platform mobile app.
• Business Owner Advisory Services Tailored advisory services for entrepreneurs and business owners covering business financial planning, employer retirement plan design (401(k), SEP, SIMPLE), succession and exit planning, personal investment management, and coordinated work with external CPAs and attorneys.
• 401(k) & Employer Retirement Plan Services Fiduciary retirement plan services for employers, including 401(k), 403(b), and SIMPLE IRA plan design, open-architecture investment lineups, fiduciary support, fee benchmarking, participant education, and coordination with payroll providers and third-party administrators.
• Education & Community Financial Services Financial education and stewardship-focused services for community groups, churches, and schools, including retirement plan education, entrepreneurial mentorship, and collaborative work with other professional advisors.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and support.

• TradePMRcoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party custodian and platform provider for client investment accounts. Clients access TradePMR through client login portal for account management and trading.
• Capital GroupcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of 401(k) participant platform and retirement investment options. Referenced as the 401(k) Platform link for employer plan participants.
• Box.comsupportTechnology or IntegrationEncrypted file storage and secure document transmission platform used for the secure File Submission Portal for sensitive client documents.
• CircleBlackcoreTechnology or IntegrationWealth management platform provider powering the ARK Wealth Platform client portal for portfolio monitoring and account access.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Edward Jones: Large national financial advisory firm that employs thousands of local advisors, including Ark Advisors co-founder Brad Metz as a former Edward Jones financial advisor. Directly comparable as a financial advisory practice serving individuals and families, but operates at dramatically greater scale and a broader footprint.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Large national RIA offering comprehensive financial planning, investment management, retirement plan consulting, and tax/estate services. Comparable in service breadth and fee-only fiduciary model but operates at significantly larger scale across multiple geographies.
• Carson Group: Large RIA support and partner network that provides technology, investment solutions, and back-office services to independent financial advisors. Comparable because many Ark Advisors peers use this model to scale, and it competes for the same independent advisor constituency.
• Commonwealth Financial Network: Large independent broker-dealer and RIA support platform providing practice management, technology, and investment solutions to thousands of financial advisors nationwide. Comparable as an alternative infrastructure path for small RIAs seeking scale without going fully independent.
• State Farm Insurance Companies: Large insurance and financial services company where co-founder Brad Metz previously worked. Compares as a competing financial services organization in the Bloomington-Normal market, but is broader in product mix (insurance-led) and commission-based rather than fee-only.
• Creative Planning: One of the largest independent fee-only RIAs in the U.S., offering comprehensive wealth management, retirement plan administration, and tax services. Comparable in service mix and fiduciary positioning, but at vastly larger scale and with a national footprint.

Emerging players

• Facet Wealth: Digital-first flat-fee financial planning firm offering comprehensive financial advice through a virtual model. Comparable in serving individuals and families seeking integrated planning, but competes on price and accessibility rather than face-to-face local relationships.

Others

• Krill Systems (Verity Wealth Advisors / Sigma Financial): Independent broker-dealer and RIA support platform used by many small fee-based advisory firms. Comparable as an alternative vendor/partner for the custody, technology, and compliance functions that Ark Advisors currently obtains from TradePMR and CircleBlack.

Direct peers

• Ronald Blue Trust: National fee-only Christian-based RIA providing comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and biblical stewardship advice to individuals, families, and foundations. Highly comparable to Ark Advisors given the shared faith-based fiduciary positioning and integrated planning approach.
• Foster Group: Fee-only RIA headquartered in the Midwest offering comprehensive wealth management, retirement plan services, and estate planning to individuals and business owners. Closely comparable in business model, fee-only fiduciary structure, and Midwest regional focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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 Ark Advisors