PlanMember Financial

What PlanMember Financial does

PlanMember Financial Corporation is a privately held financial services firm headquartered in Carpinteria, California, founded in 1992. The company delivers retirement planning, investment advisory, and financial literacy services through PlanMember Securities Corporation, a FINRA-registered broker/dealer and SIPC-member investment advisor that serves as the regulated infrastructure for the firm's distribution model.

PlanMember distributes its services via a network of independent financial centers managed by affiliated firms, such as Gentry Wealth Management, which operates the Tyler, Texas center serving over 1,000 educator and school staff clients. The core technology asset is the PlanMember Partners Portal at planmemberpartners.com, a secure web platform that gives financial professionals, employers, and employees access to tools and resources. The portal supports a three-sided user ecosystem but does not, based on available data, incorporate AI-driven advisory or intelligent automation.

The business model centers on securities and advisory fees generated through the broker/dealer and RIA entity, with revenue effectively recurring in nature as it is tied to ongoing client advisory relationships and asset-based fees. The firm deliberately targets the education vertical, differentiating through specialized financial literacy and guidance for K-12 and higher education employees. Marketing is conducted primarily through the partner portal website and a contact center, with no public pricing tiers or fee schedules disclosed.

Name

PlanMember Financial

Legal name

PlanMember Financial Corporation

Website

https://planmemberpartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

PlanMember Financial, founded in 1992 and headquartered in Carpinteria, California, provides retirement planning and investment advisory services through its FINRA-registered broker/dealer subsidiary, distributing via a network of independent financial centers that primarily serve educators and school staff.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Advisory and Brokerage Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Pension Funds (525110)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Employer Retirement Plan Advisory (401(k)/Pension) (FSAEABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Retirement Plan Participant Advice & Managed Accounts (FSAEABAF), Comprehensive Financial Planning (FSAEAAAA)

Keywords

• Retirement planning services
• Investment advisory
• Broker-dealer services
• Financial planning tools
• Wealth management

Headquarters

HQ city

Carpinteria

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Securities and Advisory Services: PlanMember Securities Corporation, a registered broker/dealer and investment advisor, offers securities and advisory services to clients through its network of independent financial centers and financial professionals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

PlanMember Financial Corporation operates as a financial services firm providing securities and advisory services through its registered broker/dealer and investment advisor subsidiary, PlanMember Securities Corporation. The company distributes these services through a network of independent financial centers managed by affiliated firms, with a specific focus on educators and school staff. The PlanMember Partners web portal serves as the access point for financial professionals, employers, and employees to obtain tools and resources for retirement planning, investment advisory, and financial literacy.

Product overview

PlanMember Financial offers a single unified financial services platform centered on the PlanMember Partners Portal. The platform serves independent financial professionals, employers, and employees with tools and resources for financial literacy and guidance, with a specific focus on educators and school staff. The company operates through a network of independent financial centers, such as the Tyler, TX center managed by Gentry Wealth Management, and provides member services through registered broker/dealer and investment advisor PlanMember Securities Corporation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PlanMember Partners Portal Secure online portal (planmemberpartners.com) that provides PlanMember Financial Professionals, employers, and employees with access to exclusive tools and resources for financial management, retirement planning, and investment advisory support.
• Securities and Advisory Services Securities brokerage and investment advisory services offered through PlanMember Securities Corporation, a registered broker/dealer, investment advisor, and member of FINRA/SIPC. Delivered to clients through a network of independent financial centers and affiliated financial professionals.
• Independent Financial Center Services Localized financial planning, investment advisory, retirement planning, and financial literacy services delivered through independent financial centers operated by affiliated firms (e.g., Gentry Wealth Management in Tyler, TX), with a vertical focus on educators and school staff.

Named customers1 record

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

One partnership is on record.

• Gentry Wealth Management (GWM)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 13 November 2025GWM is a subsidiary of Gentry Financial Group and operates as an independent financial center for PlanMember in Tyler, Texas. GWM specializes in providing financial literacy and guidance specifically for educators and school staff, serving over 1,000 clients.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Corebridge Financial (formerly VALIC): Corebridge's VALIC franchise historically served K-12 and higher-education 403(b) participants with retirement products and advisor-led services. It competes head-to-head with PlanMember in the educator retirement space and is comparable in its reliance on advisor-led distribution for that segment.
• LPL Financial: LPL is the largest U.S. independent broker/dealer, supporting thousands of affiliated financial advisors with compliance, technology, and product infrastructure. It is comparable to PlanMember's broker/dealer-anchor model for independent financial centers, but operates at materially greater scale.
• Empower Retirement: Empower is one of the largest U.S. retirement-plan recordkeepers and serves many education-sector plan sponsors. It overlaps with PlanMember in providing retirement-plan infrastructure and participant advice, but at much larger scale and with more digital-first delivery.
• Voya Financial: Voya operates a large retirement-solutions business serving K-12 schools, higher-education institutions, and other plan sponsors. It competes with PlanMember for educator retirement-plan participants and is comparable in combining plan administration with advisor-driven participant support.
• TIAA: TIAA is the dominant provider of retirement plans for educators and academic institutions in the U.S. It is the most direct strategic comparator for PlanMember's educator-vertical focus, although at vastly greater scale and with proprietary in-house recordkeeping and plan administration.

Emerging players

• OneAmerica Retirement Services: OneAmerica offers retirement-plan and K-12/higher-education-focused products and services through a network of independent agents. It overlaps with PlanMember in the educator-vertical retirement space, but is smaller in plan-sponsor share than the major incumbents.

Direct peers

• Cetera Financial Group: Cetera is an independent broker/dealer and RIA support platform serving affiliated financial professionals and institutions. It is structurally comparable to PlanMember Securities Corporation, which provides B/D and RIA infrastructure to its independent financial-center affiliates.
• Cambridge Investment Research: Cambridge is an independent broker/dealer that supports affiliated advisors with practice management, compliance, and product access. It mirrors PlanMember's independent-financial-center model and is directly comparable in business structure and target advisor profile.
• Ameritas Investment Company: Ameritas provides retirement-plan products and investment advisory services to the K-12 educator market and other plan sponsors. It is comparable to PlanMember in combining educator-vertical focus with retirement advisory and B/D distribution to independent advisors.
• Horace Mann Educators Corporation: Horace Mann provides retirement, insurance, and financial-services products specifically to educators and is among the closest direct competitors to PlanMember's educator-vertical proposition. Both companies target the same K-12 employee base with retirement and financial-literacy offerings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/PlanMemberSecurities

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 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 PlanMember Financial