RSA Advisors, LLC

What RSA Advisors, LLC does

RSA Advisors, LLC is a privately held municipal advisory firm registered with the SEC and MSRB, headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. The firm was established in June 2020 when Ross, Sinclaire & Associates, LLC spun off its Municipal Advisory Division, continuing a 30-year public finance practice led by Managing Directors Joe Lakofka and Dwight Salsbury. RSA provides fiduciary advisory services to government issuers across Kentucky and, to a lesser extent, Tennessee — including K-12 public school districts, cities, counties, water and sanitation utilities, healthcare and higher education institutions, nonprofits, and special taxing districts.

The firm's core offering is end-to-end municipal advisory work: developing financing plans, evaluating legal structures, analyzing debt and refunding options, preparing rating agency presentations, and managing competitive or negotiated bond sales. Specialized capabilities include credit enhancement advisory (leveraging relationships with Moody's and S&P), economic development financing (IRBs, TIF, NMTC, P3), investment services for bond proceeds, and three flagship pooled programs — Kentucky Bond Corporation (KBC), Kentucky Bond Development Corporation (KBDC), and the Kentucky Interlocal School Transportation Association (KISTA) bus/technology/energy financing program. RSA holds 74% market share of Kentucky school district municipal advisory clients per Bloomberg and is recognized by Thomson Reuters as the leading Kentucky municipal advisor.

Revenue is generated on a professional services basis through negotiated advisory fees tied to bond issuance, refinancing, and pooled-program transactions; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The firm operates with a lean staff of approximately 8 professionals and distributes services through direct relationship-based engagement with government clients, supported by referral pipelines through the Kentucky League of Cities and ongoing debt surveillance mandates across a 127-district K-12 book.

Name

RSA Advisors, LLC

Legal name

RSA Advisors, LLC

Website

https://rsamuni.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Short description

RSA Advisors, LLC is an SEC/MSRB-registered municipal advisory firm in Lexington, Kentucky, providing fiduciary bond issuance, refinancing, and pooled financing services to Kentucky and Tennessee government issuers — advising 74% of Kentucky K-12 school districts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Financial Advisory Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Debt Advisory & Financing Advisory (FSAEAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Investment Management Advisory (RIA) (FSAEAAAB)

Keywords

• Municipal advisory services
• Public finance advisory
• Bond issuance advisory
• School district financing
• Government bond consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Municipal Advisory Fees: RSA generates revenue by providing municipal advisory services to government entities including cities, counties, school districts, universities, nonprofits, and special districts. Services include developing financing plans, evaluating legal approaches, analyzing bond structures, assisting with rating agency presentations, managing competitive or negotiated sale processes, and providing ongoing financial recommendations. The firm operates as a fiduciary advising clients seeking access to capital markets.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

RSA Advisors, LLC is a SEC/MSRB-registered municipal advisory firm providing public finance services to government entities in Kentucky. The firm advises cities, counties, school districts, universities, nonprofits, and special districts on bond issuance, refinancing, credit enhancement, economic development financing (IRBs, TIF, NMTC, P3), and investment of bond proceeds. RSA also administers pooled financing programs including the KISTA Bus Financing Program, Kentucky Bond Corporation, and Kentucky Bond Development Corporation.

Product overview

RSA Advisors, LLC is a municipal advisory firm providing public finance services across Kentucky and select other states. The firm operates as a single-service advisory business organized around its core municipal advisory capability, supported by several specialized programs. The primary offerings include Municipal Advisory Services (financing plan development, bond issuance management, debt analysis), Project Financing for schools and construction, Investment Services for bond proceeds, Economic Development Projects (IRBs, TIF, NMTC, P3), and Credit Enhancement. Specialized programs include the KISTA Bus Financing Program for school bus purchases, Kentucky Bond Corporation pooled bond program, and Kentucky Bond Development Corporation conduit financing. The firm serves K-12 schools, state and local governments, healthcare, utilities, higher education, nonprofits, and special districts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Municipal Advisory Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Sanitation District No. 1 saved over $14 million through refinancing of $61.5 million in bonds at 1.57% TIC
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Kentucky Bond Development Corporation (KBDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Kentucky Bond Development Corporation is a nonprofit corporation formed in 2014 by the Kentucky League of Cities to provide conduit financing for member sponsored projects. KBDC serves as issuer for conduit financings for nonprofit corporations including hospitals, independent educational institutions, and 501c(3) corporations including tax increment financing bonds and public private partnership bonds. RSA has proudly served as municipal advisor to KBDC since its inception.
• Kentucky Bond Corporation (KBC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Kentucky Bond Corporation was created in 2010 by the Kentucky League of Cities to assist municipalities access the fixed rate bond market. KBC was formed through an inter-local agreement to facilitate issuance of fixed rate bonds with terms from 5-30 years and amounts as small as $250,000. RSA serves as municipal advisor to the pooled bond program assisting borrowers to secure financing for new construction projects and refinancing of existing debt. Since inception, KBC has issued over $250 million on behalf of 75 different municipalities.
• Kentucky Interlocal School Transportation Association (KISTA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKISTA is a not-for-profit association of Kentucky school districts formed to provide school districts with a financing tool for purchasing school buses. RSA was instrumental in the formation of KISTA and serves as its Financial Advisor. KISTA has financed over 3,600 school buses totaling more than $210 million. The program also expanded to include technology financing and energy improvement projects.
• Moody's Investors ServicemajorOthersRSA has enjoyed strong working relationships with Moody's Investors Service and commands a high degree of credibility with analysts. Through these connections, RSA has helped many clients obtain municipal bond ratings and has generated numerous ratings upgrades. RSA works with issuers to prepare presentations and identify areas for credit quality improvement.
• Standard & Poor'smajorOthersRSA maintains strong working relationships with Standard & Poor's. KBC benefits from an AA- rating from S&P achieved in part from the debt service reserve funded by the Kentucky League of Cities. RSA works with clients to prepare ratings presentations and represents clients in negotiations with rating agencies.
• Kentucky League of Cities (KLC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKentucky League of Cities formed Kentucky Bond Corporation in 2010 and Kentucky Bond Development Corporation in 2014. KLC provides debt service reserve funding for KBC and has been instrumental in supporting municipal financing programs. RSA serves as municipal advisor to both KBC and KBDC, creating a strong partnership with KLC for Kentucky municipal financing.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Public Financial Management (PFM): PFM is the largest independent municipal advisory firm in the US, providing debt issuance, refinancing, and financial advisory services to state and local governments — directly comparable to RSA's core municipal advisory model and target client base.
• Hilltop Securities: Hilltop Securities provides municipal advisory and underwriting services to school districts, cities, counties, and special districts across multiple states — a direct competitor to RSA in the small-to-mid municipal advisory market, particularly in adjacent southern/Midwestern states.
• Kaufman Hall (now Forvis): Kaufman Hall provides specialized financial advisory and capital planning services to healthcare systems, higher education, and other public/nonprofit sectors — comparable to RSA's advisory model and overlapping client base in healthcare and higher-ed municipal finance.
• Ice Miller: Ice Miller's Public Finance practice provides municipal advisory to schools, cities, and nonprofits — a comparable-sized specialty public finance firm competing with RSA in the Midwest/Ohio Valley regional market.

Broad incumbents

• Piper Sandler: Piper Sandler's Public Finance group provides municipal advisory and investment banking services to K-12 schools, cities, and special districts — a broader investment bank that competes with RSA in the same school-district and small-municipality segments.
• Stifel Financial: Stifel's Public Finance and Investment Banking divisions provide municipal advisory to school districts and local governments nationwide — comparable to RSA in product scope though part of a much larger diversified broker-dealer platform.
• Raymond James: Raymond James Public Finance provides municipal advisory to schools, cities, counties and authorities — a broader-wealth-management platform that competes with RSA for mid-sized municipal advisory mandates.
• Baker Tilly: Baker Tilly provides municipal advisory, public finance, and capital planning services to K-12 schools and local governments — directly comparable service offering to RSA though part of a larger accounting and advisory firm.
• Robert W. Baird: Baird's Public Finance group provides municipal advisory and underwriting to schools, municipalities, and nonprofits nationwide — competing with RSA for mid-sized K-12 and small-municipality mandates as a broader diversified wealth management platform.

Regional players

• Wipfli (formerly REDW): Wipfli provides public sector advisory including municipal finance and K-12 capital planning — overlapping service capabilities to RSA in regional school-district markets, though with a broader advisory footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 RSA Advisors, LLC