Personal Financial Planning

What Personal Financial Planning does

Personal Financial Planning is a privately held, boutique financial advisory firm headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia. Founded in 1984, the firm serves individual consumers and families with investment management, retirement planning, budgeting, and broader financial strategy services. The primary client-facing advisor is Robert Ford, CRPC, who has been with the firm since 2007, and the practice operates from a single office location with a headcount in the 11–50 range (likely at the lower end based on the lean client-facing surface and single primary contact). The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer, supported by a free 45-minute initial consultation designed to convert prospects into ongoing advisory relationships.

The firm's underlying technology stack is minimal and entirely composed of third-party SaaS tools rather than proprietary infrastructure. Client interactions are supported through the Blue Leaf client portal, and the firm's website embeds CalcXML calculators to give prospects and clients self-service financial planning utilities. There is no proprietary platform, no internal software development, and no AI or machine-learning capabilities referenced anywhere in the firm's material. The practice is relationship-driven and consultative, with technology playing a supporting rather than differentiating role.

The business model is fee-based financial advisory — the firm earns revenue by charging clients for ongoing investment management and financial planning services rather than through transactional commissions or product sales. Pricing is not publicly disclosed on the website, which is consistent with custom, relationship-based engagement letters typical of small RIAs. The customer base is a long-tail of individuals and families in the Roanoke region and surrounding area, with no enterprise or institutional clients, no disclosed AUM figures, and no funding, M&A, or expansion activity on record. The firm appears bootstrapped and self-sustaining, with no recent strategic moves beyond routine vendor integrations and a local community partnership with Blue Ridge PBS.

Name

Personal Financial Planning

Legal name

Personal Financial Planning, Inc.

Website

https://pfplans.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Personal Financial Planning is a boutique, fee-based financial advisory firm in Roanoke, Virginia, founded in 1984, serving individuals and families with investment management, retirement planning, budgeting, and financial strategy services through a direct-to-consumer, relationship-driven model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Personal Financial Planning & Advisory Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAEAAAA

Comprehensive Financial Planning

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Investment Advisory & Financial Planning

SECONDARYFSAEABAD

Retirement Income Planning & Decumulation Advisory

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Wealth & Retirement Advisory

SECONDARYFSAAAAAH

Discretionary Portfolio Management (Retail)

Financial & Insurance/Asset & Wealth Management/Retail & Mass-Affluent Wealth Management

SECONDARYFSAEAAAH

Financial Coaching & Budgeting Advisory

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Investment Advisory & Financial Planning

Keywords

• Personal financial planning
• Retirement planning services
• Investment management advisory
• Fiduciary wealth advisory
• Individual financial planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Roanoke

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Financial Planning and Investment Advisory Services: Fee-based financial planning and investment management services provided on an ongoing advisory relationship basis. Services include retirement planning, cash management, risk management, and investment strategy tailored to individual client needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Personal Financial Planning, Inc. delivers fee-based personal financial planning and investment management services to individual consumers and families in the Roanoke, Virginia region. Core engagements combine retirement planning, investment strategy, cash management, risk management through insurance advisory, goal-based planning, and client education into ongoing fiduciary advisory relationships. Entry into the practice is via a free 45-minute planning consultation supported by an online financial assessment tool.

Product overview

Personal Financial Planning, Inc. is a financial advisory firm offering a unified financial planning and investment management platform. The core offering is personalized financial planning and investment advisory services, supplemented by a client portal (via Blue Leaf), financial assessment sessions, and a suite of CalcXML-powered financial calculators. Additional modules include retirement planning, investment management, goal planning sessions, risk management (insurance advisory), client education, cash management, accumulation planning, and estate planning resources. The company emphasizes a fiduciary approach and delivers services from their Roanoke, Virginia office through relationship-based advisory.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Planning and Investment Management Comprehensive fee-based personal financial planning and investment advisory service for individuals and families, covering asset growth and preservation, retirement planning, investment strategy tailored to risk tolerance, cash management, risk management, and estate planning, delivered through ongoing fiduciary advisory relationships.
• Free Financial Assessment / Initial Planning Consultation Complimentary 45-minute planning session offered to new and existing clients to review current financial situation, identify goals, and recommend service options. Supports intake via an online financial assessment form capturing demographics, financial concerns, life transitions, investing goals, and risk tolerance.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and supporting.

• Blue Ridge PBSminorOthersCommunity partnership as 'Proud supporter' of Blue Ridge PBS public broadcasting station. This appears to be charitable sponsorship rather than formal business partnership.
• Blue LeafcoreTechnology or IntegrationBlue Leaf provides the client portal platform for Personal Financial Planning to deliver secure access to client personal financial information. Clients sign in through Blue Leaf to view account details.
• CalcXMLsupportingTechnology or IntegrationCalcXML provides the financial calculator tools embedded on the website, including retirement, social security, debt, mortgage, life insurance, and long-term care calculators for client use.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Emerging players

• Facet Wealth: Digital-first flat-fee financial planning firm pairing clients with CFP professionals for comprehensive planning without traditional AUM fees. Comparable on the comprehensive planning focus but competes with a tech-enabled delivery model that pressures boutique firms like Personal Financial Planning.
• Personal Capital: Hybrid digital wealth manager combining free financial tools and dashboards with human advisor services for higher-balance clients. Comparable on retirement, investment, and cash management planning, but with materially greater scale and technology investment.
• Betterment: Leading robo-advisor offering goal-based planning, retirement, and tax-efficient investing at low fees. Competes with Personal Financial Planning for younger mass-affluent clients who prefer digital delivery, exerting fee pressure on the boutique advisory model.

Broad incumbents

• Vanguard Personal Advisor Services: Vanguard's hybrid robo-plus-human-advisor service offering ongoing planning and portfolio management at low fees. Directly competes for the mass-affluent and retiree segment that Personal Financial Planning serves, with structural cost advantages.
• Fisher Investments: Large asset manager and investment-advisory firm primarily serving high-net-worth and retail investors with discretionary portfolio management. Comparable investment management offering, though less focused on the holistic life-stage planning that Personal Financial Planning emphasizes.
• Ameriprise Financial: National diversified financial services company with a large network of franchise advisors delivering comprehensive planning, investment, and insurance products. Comparable breadth of services but operates at massive scale with both fee-based and commission revenue.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Largest independent RIA in the US, offering comprehensive planning, investment management, and retirement-plan advice to individuals nationwide. Overlaps with Personal Financial Planning across every core service but operates at vastly greater scale and brand reach.
• Charles Schwab Wealth Advisory: Schwab's fee-based advisory service providing comprehensive planning and investment management with a fiduciary standard. Comparable in fiduciary positioning and service breadth, with national scale and integrated custodian relationships that boutique RIAs cannot match.

Direct peers

• Carson Wealth: Fee-based comprehensive financial planning firm serving individuals and families with investment, retirement, tax, and estate services. Same holistic-planning value proposition and recurring advisory fee model as Personal Financial Planning.
• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Fee-only RIA delivering comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and tax/estate coordination to mass-affluent households under a fiduciary model. Closely comparable in service mix, fee structure, and target client as Personal Financial Planning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Personal-Financial-Planning-Inc-159660384054290
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/personal-financial-planning-inc-

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 Personal Financial Planning