Caliber Investments

What Caliber Investments does

Caliber Investments is an independent, privately held investment advisory firm headquartered in Toledo, Ohio. Founded by David J. Elrod, the firm operates with a small staff of approximately 6-7 personnel and serves retail clients across Ohio, Michigan, and more than 23 additional states. Its client base is concentrated among pre-retirees, retirees, and families seeking integrated wealth management rather than institutional or enterprise customers.

The firm's service offering spans investment management, retirement income planning, estate planning, and a broad insurance-services line that includes life insurance, long-term care, and Medicare supplements. Asset-class coverage is wide and includes stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, alternative investments, annuities, and CDs. The firm does not operate proprietary technology platforms, instead relying on standard advisor tooling and a published Learning Center for client education and content-marketing support. External visibility is amplified by a book authored by Elrod and a radio-show presence.

Caliber operates a hybrid revenue model. Commission-based compensation flows from investment-product transactions through an affiliation with Sigma Financial Corp as broker-dealer, while fee-only advisory services are delivered through Sigma Planning Corporation, a registered investment advisor. Client acquisition is driven by personalized consultations, content marketing via the Learning Center, media presence, and previously by a Dave Ramsey Endorsed Local Provider (ELP) affiliation. The business is best characterized as a long-tenured, owner-operated advisory practice with diversified product distribution rather than a technology-enabled or scale-driven wealth platform.

Name

Caliber Investments

Legal name

Caliber Investments

Website

https://caliberinvest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Caliber Investments is an independent, privately held investment advisory firm in Toledo, Ohio, founded by David J. Elrod, serving retail pre-retirees, retirees, and families across 23+ states with investment management, retirement and estate planning, and insurance services through Sigma Financial Corp and Sigma Planning Corporation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Advisory & Financial Planning

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Portfolio Construction & Asset Allocation Advisory (FSAEAAAC)

Keywords

• Retirement income planning
• Investment advisory services
• Estate planning assistance
• Insurance products distribution
• Financial planning advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Toledo

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Commission-based Investment Distribution: In many cases, the investment companies they work with pay Caliber Investments commissions. The firm strives to keep fees as low as possible while seeking better returns and potentially reducing client fees and taxes. They also offer Fee-Only advisory services through Sigma Planning Corporation when appropriate.
2. Fee-Only Advisory Services: Investment Advisory Services offered through Sigma Planning Corporation, a registered investment advisor, allowing the use of Fee-Only compensation when appropriate for clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Caliber Investments is a full-service investment advisory firm offering customized financial planning, investment management, retirement income planning, estate planning assistance, and insurance services to individuals and families. The firm works with hundreds of investment companies to provide multiple asset classes including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, annuities, and insurance products, delivering advice through personalized consultations led by president David J. Elrod.

Product overview

Caliber Investments is a full-service investment firm offering a diversified portfolio of investment products and advisory services. The company provides multiple asset classes including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, alternative investments, fixed and fixed index annuities, CDs, and various insurance products (life, long-term care, Medicare supplements). Their advisory services encompass investment management through actively managed accounts, retirement income planning, estate planning assistance, and strategic financial planning with three core components: wealth accumulation, risk management, and spend/enjoy strategies. The firm also operates a Learning Center with educational tools including financial calculators, articles, newsletters, flipbooks, and videos covering financial topics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Stocks
• Bonds
• Mutual Funds
• Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
• Actively Managed Accounts
• Alternative Investments
• Fixed Annuities
• Fixed Index Annuities
• Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
• Life Insurance
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Medicare Supplements
• Investment Services
• Straight Forward Advice & Strategic Planning
• Retirement Income Planning
• Estate Planning Assistance
• Insurance Services

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sigma Financial CorpcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSecurities offered through Sigma Financial Corp, Member FINRA and SIPC. David Elrod is registered as a Registered Representative of Sigma Financial Corp and can deal in most investments from stocks, bonds, and mutual funds to annuities, life insurance, and long term care.
• Sigma Planning CorporationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInvestment Advisory Services offered through Sigma Planning Corporation, a registered investment advisor. This affiliation allows Caliber Investments to offer Fee-Only advisory services when appropriate through David Elrod as Investment Advisor Representative.
• Dave Ramsey (Endorsed Local Provider)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerDavid Elrod previously worked as an ELP (Endorsed Local Provider) for Dave Ramsey, providing investment advice to Dave Ramsey's audience of listeners and clients.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Raymond James Financial: Diversified financial services firm offering investment and financial planning through a network of independent advisor branches. Comparable in providing full-service brokerage and advisory to retail clients through affiliated advisors.
• Ameriprise Financial: Diversified financial services company offering comprehensive financial planning, investment advisory, and insurance products through a national advisor network. Comparable to Caliber in its multi-product advisory offering for individuals and retirees.
• LPL Financial: Largest independent broker-dealer in the U.S., supporting thousands of independent financial advisors like Caliber with securities, advisory, and compliance infrastructure. Directly comparable as an affiliation model for retail advisors.
• Cetera Financial Group: Independent broker-dealer network supporting independent financial advisors with brokerage, advisory, and insurance product access. Directly comparable in providing the IBD affiliation model Caliber uses.
• Cambridge Investment Research: Independent broker-dealer supporting independent financial advisors with brokerage and RIA affiliations. Comparable as an infrastructure counterpart for community-based advisors offering comprehensive planning.
• Fidelity Personal Investing: Large retail investment platform offering self-directed, robo, and hybrid advisor-led services targeting individuals and retirees. Comparable in serving the same pre-retiree segment, though with significant scale and digital advantages.
• Charles Schwab (Schwab Intelligent Portfolios & Personal Advisor): Major retail wealth platform offering hybrid robo + human advisory at low cost, competing for the same retirement-focused clients as Caliber. Comparable in product breadth and target demographic, though at materially greater scale.

Direct peers

• Waddell & Reed Financial (now part of Macquarie): Traditional full-service brokerage and advisory firm serving individual investors and retirees with personalized financial planning. Closely comparable in target segment and full-service multi-product approach.
• Northwestern Mutual: Insurance and investment advisory firm with a strong focus on holistic financial planning combining life insurance, retirement, and investment products. Directly comparable in its integrated insurance-plus-advisory model targeting middle-market families.
• Edward Jones: Large community-based financial advisory firm with a localized branch model serving individual investors and families, particularly pre-retirees and retirees. Directly comparable to Caliber's full-service, advisor-led, in-person financial planning and investment approach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/caliber-investments-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Caliber Investments