Blue Sands Wealth

What Blue Sands Wealth does

Blue Sands Wealth is a boutique wealth advisory firm founded in 2024 by Letitia (Tish) Berbaum and headquartered in Irvine, California. The firm delivers family office-level personalized financial planning to business owners, women managing wealth independently (including widows), and high-net-worth families. Its core offering is organized around six integrated service pillars: Tax Strategy, Financial Planning, Active Portfolio Management, Business Success Planning, Retirement Planning, and Exit and Legacy Planning, delivered through a proprietary three-step methodology (Clarity, Design, Alignment) that coordinates directly with clients' CPAs and attorneys. The flagship onboarding framework is the Profit-to-Freedom Plan, a structured path from financial clarity through rapid relief to clear execution.

The firm does not operate its own technology platform. Advisory services are offered through RFG Advisory, an SEC-registered investment advisor that provides compliance oversight, investment management through Bluemonte Investment Management, and platform infrastructure. Clients access portfolio dashboards through Fetch and personalized financial roadmaps through emaplan, with custodial account access at Charles Schwab and Fidelity. The approximately 10-person team includes two producing wealth advisors (founder plus a 30-year veteran from Deutsche Bank, Nuveen, and Citi Private Bank), with the CIO, VP of Investment Solutions, Director of Institutional Trading, Senior Director of Portfolio Strategy, and Client Service Associates drawn from RFG Advisory's broader bench.

Blue Sands Wealth generates revenue through recurring advisory fees on assets under management and fixed planning fees, billed annually. The go-to-market motion is sales-led and consultative, combined with heavy community engagement through financial literacy workshops, industry conference speaking, women's financial education partnerships (StrongHer Money, Alturus Law), and board service across Orange County nonprofits. The firm expanded from a single Irvine headquarters to a second office in Ketchum, Idaho in March 2026, targeting the Wood River Valley/Sun Valley HNW market. No external funding has been disclosed; the firm is founder-owned and operates independently within the RFG Advisory affiliate network.

Name

Blue Sands Wealth

Legal name

Blue Sands Wealth

Website

https://bluesandswealth.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Blue Sands Wealth is a boutique wealth advisory firm founded in 2024 by Letitia Berbaum, serving business owners, women managing wealth independently, and high-net-worth families through personalized financial planning, tax strategy, and exit planning, operating via RFG Advisory's RIA platform from Irvine, CA and Ketchum, ID.

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 & UHNW Wealth Advisory (FSAEABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Banking Business Owners & Entrepreneur Solutions (Liquidity Events, Pre-IPO) (FSABADAK), Onshore Private Banking (Domestic HNW/UHNW) (FSAAABAA)

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Financial planning advisory
• Tax strategy services
• Investment advisory
• Exit planning services

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wealth Management Advisory Services: Ongoing wealth management services including financial planning, investment management, tax strategy, and exit planning. Services delivered through RFG Advisory's registered investment advisor platform with fees based on assets under management or fixed advisory fees.
2. Financial Planning Services: Holistic financial planning services covering retirement planning, business success planning, tax strategy, and estate/legacy planning. Includes the 'Profit-to-Freedom' Plan methodology for new clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Blue Sands Wealth is a boutique wealth advisory firm delivering personalized financial planning, investment management, tax strategy, retirement planning, business success planning, and exit and legacy planning services. The firm operates through RFG Advisory's SEC-registered investment advisor platform, with custodial relationships at Charles Schwab and Fidelity. Its core methodology is a three-step Clarity-Design-Alignment process, anchored by the Profit-to-Freedom Plan, targeting business owners and high-net-worth individuals seeking family-office-level service.

Product overview

Blue Sands Wealth offers a unified wealth management platform centered on personalized financial planning and investment advisory services. The core offering comprises six integrated service pillars: Tax Strategy, Financial Planning, Active Portfolio Management, Business Success Planning, Retirement Planning, and Exit and Legacy Planning. These services are supported by sub-products including Vision Planning, Risk Management, and Wealth Transfer planning. The flagship offering is the Profit-to-Freedom Plan, a structured three-step methodology guiding clients from financial clarity through rapid relief to clear execution paths. All services are coordinated through the firm's proprietary method: Clarity (aggregating accounts and aligning with values), Design (engineering custom investment and tax strategies), and Alignment (ongoing coordination with CPAs and attorneys). The firm operates through custodial partnerships with Charles Schwab and Fidelity, with client access facilitated through Fetch dashboard and Financial Roadmap tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tax Strategy
• Financial Planning
• Active Portfolio Management
• Business Success Planning
• Retirement Planning
• Exit and Legacy Planning

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• RFG AdvisorycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBlue Sands Wealth operates as an advisor under RFG Advisory's SEC-registered investment advisor platform. RFG Advisory provides the infrastructure, compliance oversight, investment tools (Bluemonte Investment Management), and custodial relationships. Advisory services are offered only where RFG Advisory and its representatives are properly licensed.
• Charles SchwabcoreTechnology or IntegrationCustodial partnership providing secure access to Schwab investment accounts for client portfolio management and administration.
• Fidelity InvestmentscoreTechnology or IntegrationCustodial partnership providing secure access to Fidelity investment accounts for client portfolio management and administration.
• Alturus LawmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presented educational workshops on investing and estate planning for women. Alturus Law provides estate planning legal expertise while Blue Sands Wealth provides investment strategy and wealth planning perspective.
• StrongHer MoneymajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborative partnership hosting women-focused financial education events including Women, Wealth & Wine happy hour gatherings following educational presentations.
• Keller WilliamsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDelivered capital market overview presentation to Keller Williams sales team, providing financial education to real estate professionals on markets, interest rates, and investment strategy.
• Goodwill of Orange CountyminorOthersBoard service involvement where Letitia Berbaum serves on the board providing financial insight and strategic guidance.
• Orange County United WayminorOthersActive member of Women United for Orange County United Way and Orange County Emerging Leaders United Council.
• USA VolleyballminorOthersServes on USA Volleyball board including Audit, Finance, and Budget Committee.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Creative Planning: One of the largest independent RIAs in the U.S., offering wealth management, tax planning, and exit/retirement planning to HNW and UHNW clients. Significantly larger scale but overlaps directly on service mix and target client profile.
• Wealth Enhancement Group: Independent wealth management firm offering comprehensive planning, investment management, and tax services to HNW households. Operates a similar advisor-affiliation model and competes in the HNW advisory category.
• Mercer Advisors: National RIA focused on HNW/UHNW households with comprehensive wealth management, tax, and estate planning services. Direct overlap on the holistic planning-and-portfolio-management model Blue Sands delivers.
• Moneta Group: Independent RIA with a family-office-style service model for HNW clients including business owners. Similar positioning to Blue Sands' 'family office-level service' value proposition but at materially greater scale.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Large national RIA combining planning, investment management, and workplace financial planning. Overlap with Blue Sands on financial planning and investment advisory, though with a much broader retail-and-mass-affluent focus.
• Hightower Advisors: National RIA partnership serving HNW/UHNW families, business owners, and institutions with wealth management, investment, and exit planning services. Competes for advisor affiliation and overlapping client profiles in the HNW advisory space.
• Focus Financial Partners: Wealth management partnership firm acquiring and supporting independent RIAs serving HNW clients. Represents the larger rollup trend that Blue Sands could either partner with or compete against for advisor talent and client assets.

Direct peers

• Sanctuary Wealth: Partner-owned RIA platform for independent advisors serving HNW clients. Comparable to Blue Sands' model of boutique advisor leveraging a larger platform for custody, compliance, and investment infrastructure.
• Carson Group: Large RIA partnership serving business owners and HNW families with financial planning, exit planning, and investment management. Carson Group also runs advisor transition and growth programs and competes for the same business-owner segment that Blue Sands targets.

Emerging players

• The Zandbergen Group: Boutique wealth advisory where Blue Sands' founder Letitia Berbaum previously co-founded. Closely comparable in niche focus and service scope, illustrating the founder's prior operating experience at a similar boutique.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blue-sands-wealth
• Instagraminstagram.com/bluesandswealth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Blue Sands Wealth