Defiant Capital Group

What Defiant Capital Group does

Defiant Capital Group LLC is a fee-only registered investment adviser founded in 2020 and headquartered in Warrendale (Pittsburgh area), Pennsylvania. The firm provides comprehensive wealth management, investment management, estate and tax planning, succession planning, and access to private market investments for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients across the United States. Its primary target segments are founders, entrepreneurs, and business owners whose wealth is concentrated in private company equity, together with affluent families navigating complex wealth transitions such as exits, divorce, inheritance, or generational transfer. The firm is structured as a fee-only fiduciary with no commissions, product sales, or revenue sharing.

The firm's core service architecture is built around its proprietary Atlas Framework™, a five-pillar methodology comprising Architecture (entity and titling design), Taxation (lifetime tax lens), Liquidity (capital accessibility mapping), Allocation (net-of-tax/fee/risk return optimization), and Succession (generational wealth transfer governance). This framework is applied simultaneously across every client relationship on an annual cadence. Beyond the framework, the firm offers specialized founder advisory covering pre-liquidity planning, equity compensation (ISOs, NSOs, RSUs), QSBS planning, and post-liquidity wealth management, alongside private market access to institutional-grade private equity, private debt, venture capital, and real assets. Trademarks include "Atlas Framework™" and "The Enduring Wealth Standard™."

The go-to-market is a high-touch consultative direct sales motion: prospective clients enter through a discovery-call process with a $2 million net-worth threshold as a screening filter, and the firm partners with clients' CPAs and estate attorneys as referral channels. Pricing is quote-based and recurring (annual billing cadence) with no publicly disclosed fee schedule. The team is small (1-10 employees) and is led by Co-Founder and CIO Jonathan Dane (CFA, CFP, formerly of Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and a $900M multi-family office), Co-Founder Kelly Dane, and Principal Stuart Strasner (CFA). The firm has built brand visibility through earned media in Barron's, Bloomberg, CNBC, FintechTV, and Pittsburgh Business Times, supplemented by an extensive educational blog of more than 50 articles covering QSBS, estate planning, Pennsylvania-specific tax topics, family governance, and private market access.

Name

Defiant Capital Group

Legal name

Defiant Capital Group LLC

Website

https://defiantcap.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fee-only, fiduciary wealth management firm serving U.S. founders, entrepreneurs, and ultra-high-net-worth families. Applies its proprietary Atlas Framework™ across architecture, taxation, liquidity, allocation, and succession to deliver integrated financial planning and investment management from its Pittsburgh-area headquarters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Banking Business Owners & Entrepreneur Solutions (Liquidity Events, Pre-IPO) (FSABADAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Capital Raising Advisory (Equity & Equity-Linked) (FSAEAGAC)

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Investment advisory
• Estate planning services
• Private market investments
• Founder wealth advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Pittsburgh

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Wealth Management Advisory Fees: Fee-only advisory services where the firm is compensated solely by client fees. No commissions, no revenue sharing, no product incentives. Revenue derived from comprehensive wealth management and advisory services including financial planning, investment management, estate planning, and tax strategy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Defiant Capital Group provides fee-only, fiduciary wealth management and advisory services for founders, business owners, entrepreneurs, and ultra-high-net-worth families. Core services include comprehensive financial planning, investment management, estate and tax planning, succession planning, access to private market investments, and specialized founder advisory covering pre-liquidity planning, equity compensation, QSBS planning, and exit strategy. All engagements are coordinated through the proprietary Atlas Framework™, applying five disciplines (Architecture, Taxation, Liquidity, Allocation, Succession) simultaneously each year.

Product overview

Defiant Capital Group is a fee-only, fiduciary wealth management firm offering an integrated advisory platform built around its proprietary Atlas Framework™ methodology. The core offering combines five interconnected disciplines—Architecture, Taxation, Liquidity, Allocation, and Succession—applied simultaneously to every client relationship. Services include Wealth Management and Advisory, Investment Management, Estate and Tax Planning, Succession Planning, and Private Market Investments. Specialized services for founders encompass pre-liquidity planning, QSBS strategy, equity compensation planning (ISOs, NSOs, RSUs), and exit planning. The firm provides access to institutional-quality private equity, private debt, and venture capital. All recommendations are driven solely by client interests with no product sales or commissions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Atlas Framework™ The firm's proprietary, trademarked five-pillar wealth management discipline comprising Architecture (entity/titling design), Taxation (lifetime tax lens), Liquidity (capital accessibility mapping), Allocation (net-of-tax/fee/risk return optimization), and Succession (generational wealth transfer governance). Applied simultaneously across all client relationships annually to deliver enduring wealth outcomes for founders and high-income earners.
• Wealth Management and Advisory Comprehensive financial planning and advisory services coordinating investments, taxes, estate planning, succession, and asset protection for affluent families, founders, and business owners. Designed as the firm's flagship integrated engagement.
• Investment Management Portfolio management combining public markets with private equity, venture capital, private debt, and real assets to build resilient, generational portfolios for high-net-worth clients.
• Estate and Tax Planning Strategies for wealth transfer, tax minimization, and asset protection including multigenerational estate planning, trust structures, and Pennsylvania inheritance tax planning for high-net-worth families and business owners.
• Succession Planning Business succession and transition planning services including exit strategy, leadership transitions, and family governance frameworks for founders and business owners preparing ownership changes.
• Private Market Investments Access to institutional-grade private equity, private debt, venture capital, and niche investments for qualified investors through a structured due diligence process.
• Founder and Entrepreneur Advisory Specialized pre-liquidity planning, equity compensation advisory (ISOs, NSOs, RSUs), QSBS planning, and post-liquidity wealth management services for founders and entrepreneurs whose wealth is concentrated in private company equity.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Client CPA and Tax AdvisorscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFirm works directly with clients' CPAs and tax advisors as part of comprehensive financial planning. Coordinates tax planning, projections, and compliance with external accounting professionals. This is a core part of their integrated advisory approach.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Moneta Group: Fee-only, fiduciary RIA providing comprehensive wealth management, investment advisory, tax planning, and estate services to HNW individuals and families. Comparable in fee-only fiduciary model and integrated service offering, though significantly larger in AUM.
• Carson Group: RIA support platform serving independent financial advisors with wealth management, investment, and planning technology. Comparable as a fee-only fiduciary advisor model targeting HNW clients, though distributed through a partnership network rather than a single branded firm.
• Pathstone: Independent wealth management firm offering family office and advisory services to HNW families, foundations, and endowments. Comparable in delivering comprehensive multi-generational wealth planning with fiduciary alignment.
• Aspiriant: Fee-only wealth management firm serving HNW and UHNW clients with integrated financial planning, investment management, and tax strategy. Comparable as a fiduciary RIA targeting complex wealth situations with a similar integrated-service philosophy.
• Creative Planning: Large fee-only, fiduciary RIA serving HNW and UHNW clients nationally. Directly comparable as a fee-only wealth advisory firm offering integrated investment, tax, and estate planning with a similar service philosophy to Defiant, though at much greater scale.
• SignatureFD: Wealth management firm specializing in business owners, executives, and HNW families with integrated investment, tax, and exit planning. Highly comparable given Defiant's founder-focused positioning, equity compensation expertise, and pre-/post-liquidity planning emphasis.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: National fee-only RIA providing comprehensive wealth advisory, investment management, tax, and estate planning for HNW individuals and families. Comparable in integrated fiduciary offering and founder/business-owner orientation, with significantly broader scale.
• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Fee-only RIA focused on evidence-based investment management and comprehensive financial planning for HNW individuals and families. Comparable in fiduciary, fee-only service model and integrated wealth management approach.

Broad incumbents

• Focus Financial Partners: Partnership of independent RIAs and wealth management firms serving HNW clients across the U.S. Comparable as a fee-only fiduciary wealth advisory platform serving founders and business owners, but operating as a multi-affiliated consolidator rather than a single boutique firm.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Large national RIA offering wealth management, investment advisory, and financial planning across broad client segments. Comparable as a fee-only fiduciary advisor, though broader in market reach and product breadth than Defiant's founder-focused niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/defiant-capital-group
• Xx.com/DefiantCapital_
• Facebookfacebook.com/defiantcapital

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 Defiant Capital Group