Williams Group USA

What Williams Group USA does

Williams Group USA is a privately held, Florida-based retirement plan consulting firm that operates as an independent fiduciary for plan sponsors and corporate fiduciaries. The firm conducts vendor searches, due diligence, fee negotiations, and governance assessments across investment advisors, OCIOs, recordkeepers, ESOP trustees, actuaries, ERISA counsel, and health and welfare providers. Services are delivered on a conflict-free, fee-only, vendor-neutral basis with multi-year engagements, targeting midmarket businesses and nonprofit plan sponsors that need to comply with the DOL "Duty to Monitor," UPMIFA, and UPIA requirements.

The firm's core technology is a proprietary real-time e-RFP platform described as drawing on benchmark data from 2,000-plus plan sponsor recordkeeping engagements to support strength-based fee negotiation. Its product suite comprises three core offerings — Investment Advisor/OCIO Search, Recordkeeper Search, and Retirement Program & Governance Assessment — plus modular add-on searches for ESOP trustees, actuaries, ERISA counsel, health and welfare, and trust and custody services. Distribution is direct enterprise consulting within the United States only, supported by LinkedIn, website/SEO, and consultation-CTA content marketing. The firm does not custody assets, does not sell proprietary investment products, and routes any securities-related activity through a third-party broker-dealer relationship with Kestra Investment Services, LLC.

Commercially, the firm earns revenue through project-based professional services fees on multi-year contracts. It is founder-led by Patrick Williams, who holds the AIF designation and has 35 years of industry experience since 1985, with 1-10 employees operating out of Palm Beach Gardens, FL. No revenue, funding rounds, ownership changes, or M&A activity are disclosed in the available material.

Name

Williams Group USA

Legal name

Williams Group, LLC

Website

https://williamsgroupusa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Williams Group USA is a privately held, Florida-based fiduciary consulting firm that conducts vendor searches, due diligence, fee negotiations, and governance assessments for retirement plan sponsors and midmarket businesses on a fee-only, conflict-free basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retirement Plan Fiduciary Consulting

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities (523991)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Fiduciary Agency & Trustee-for-Hire Services (FSAAANAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Affinity, Membership & Association Referral Programs (FSAEAMAL)

Keywords

• Retirement plan consulting
• Fiduciary advisory services
• Investment advisor search
• Recordkeeper search
• Plan governance assessment

Headquarters

HQ city

Palm Beach Gardens

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Advisory Services: Professional consulting fees for retirement plan search and evaluation services including investment advisor search, OCIO search, recordkeeper search, and governance assessment services. Services are provided on a project basis as fiduciaries representing plan sponsors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Williams Group USA provides conflict-free, fee-only fiduciary consulting services to retirement plan sponsors and fiduciaries. Core offerings include Investment Advisor/OCIO Search, Recordkeeper Search, and Retirement Program & Governance Assessment, supplemented by specialized searches for ESOP Trustees, Actuaries, ERISA Counsel, Health and Welfare, and Trust and Custody providers, all supported by proprietary real-time e-RFP tools.

Product overview

Williams Group USA offers a suite of fiduciary consulting and search services for retirement plan sponsors. The core offerings include Investment Advisor/OCIO Search, Recordkeeper Search, and Retirement Program & Governance Assessment services. These are supplemented by specialized search services for ESOP Trustees, Actuaries, ERISA Counsel, Health and Welfare, and Trust & Custody Services. The firm also employs proprietary real-time e-RFP tools to streamline vendor evaluation. All services are delivered on a conflict-free, fee-only, vendor-neutral basis with over 35 years of industry experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investment Advisor / OCIO Search

Quantifiable outcome

• 66% reduction in recordkeeping costs resulting in $140,000 annual savings
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Kestra Investment Services, LLCminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSecurities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC, a broker-dealer registered with SEC and member of FINRA and SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through affiliated Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. Williams Group is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS. This relationship enables securities distribution while Williams Group maintains independence as a fee-only, vendor-neutral consultant.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• NFP: Large US insurance brokerage and financial services platform with a substantial retirement plan advisory practice, providing plan design, vendor search, and governance services across mid- and large-market plan sponsors.
• Willis Towers Watson (WTW): Major global advisory firm providing retirement plan consulting, actuarial, governance, and broker services to large and midmarket plan sponsors - overlaps in fiduciary governance and vendor procurement mandates.
• Lockton: World's largest independent insurance brokerage with a sizable US retirement plan advisory practice providing recordkeeper search, fiduciary support, and governance solutions; competes in the same plan-sponsor RFP and governance category as Williams Group.
• OneDigital: Large benefits, retirement, and HR advisory firm offering plan advisory, vendor procurement, and compliance services to midmarket employers; directly overlaps with Williams Group's plan search and governance consulting.
• Mercer: Global consulting leader with a major US retirement and investment practice, providing strategic advice, OCIO, and governance to corporate plan sponsors; competes in the broader fiduciary and investment advisor search space.

Direct peers

• CAPTRUST: One of the largest US retirement plan advisory firms; provides fee-based investment advisory, fiduciary, and plan governance consulting to plan sponsors across the country. Closely comparable service mix and target client to Williams Group.
• Pentegra: Specialized retirement plan administration, ESOP, and fiduciary services firm serving plan sponsors, with overlapping ESOP trustee search and governance offerings alongside Williams Group.
• SageView Advisory Group: Fee-only, independent retirement plan advisor and consulting firm serving mid- to large-sized plan sponsors with investment advisory, plan design, and fiduciary services - a near-identical fee-only fiduciary search and governance model.

Emerging players

• Empower: Leading US retirement recordkeeper that increasingly bundles advisory, governance, and plan design tools - competing with independent search firms like Williams Group by offering integrated vendor and fiduciary solutions.
• Schwab Plan Services: Charles Schwab's retirement plan services arm and a major recordkeeper offering integrated investment, governance, and educational tools for plan sponsors - a frequent RFP candidate against whom Williams Group benchmarks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/corporatefiduciary

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Williams Group USA