TS Consulting

What TS Consulting does

TS Consulting operates the personal brand and advisory platform of founder Taylor Schulte, CFP®, who launched Define Financial in 2014 as a fee-only fiduciary Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) headquartered in San Diego, California. The firm specializes exclusively in retirement planning for individuals age 50 and older with $2 million or more in investable assets, delivering comprehensive financial planning, tax strategy, and investment management services through a proprietary four-step methodology branded as the Total Retirement System™. Clients are onboarded through a free 45-minute retirement strategy session that functions as both qualification and consultative sales motion.

The business model is subscription/recurring fee-only advisory revenue, with no disclosed pricing; the $2M+ asset threshold places the firm in a premium, high-net-worth segment of the RIA market. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct-to-consumer, with no product-led or self-serve distribution layer. There is no proprietary technology platform, app, or API disclosed in the input data — the offering is human-advisor-driven, supplemented by a structured process framework and content assets rather than software.

Beyond the core advisory practice, TS Consulting operates a diversified content and community ecosystem: the Stay Wealthy Retirement Podcast (Apple Top 75, Forbes Top 10), the AGC™ (Advisor Growth Community, co-founded with Justin Castelli), the Retirement Podcast Network, the Tax-Smart Retirement Toolkit, and a weekly retirement newsletter. These sub-brands function as top-of-funnel marketing and, in the case of the AGC™, a parallel B2B community business. The firm is privately held by its founder, with no disclosed institutional investment, M&A activity, or expansion beyond a domestic California operating footprint.

Name

TS Consulting

Legal name

Taylor Schulte

Website

https://taylorschulte.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TS Consulting operates the personal brand platform of CFP® Taylor Schulte, encompassing Define Financial — a fee-only fiduciary RIA in San Diego serving retirees and pre-retirees age 50+ with $2M+ in assets — alongside content and community assets including the Stay Wealthy Retirement Podcast, the AGC™ advisor community, and the Retirement Podcast Network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Advisory

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Retirement Planning & Long-Term Financial Planning Tools (FSAGADAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Comprehensive Financial Planning (FSAEAAAA)

Keywords

• Retirement planning services
• Fee-only financial planning
• Tax strategy retirement
• Investment management advisory
• Fiduciary wealth advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego, California

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

Revenue model

1. Fee-Only Financial Planning: The firm operates as a fee-only registered investment advisor (RIA), charging clients for comprehensive financial planning and investment management services. The firm adheres to the fiduciary standard, meaning it acts in the client's best interest.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

TS Consulting (Define Financial) is a fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm that delivers comprehensive retirement planning, tax strategy, and investment management services to individuals aged 50+ with $2M+ in investable assets. The firm uses a proprietary 4-step planning methodology called the Total Retirement System™ to coordinate lower-lifetime-tax strategies, dependable retirement income planning, and optimized investment management into a single, adaptable plan.

Product overview

Taylor Schulte operates a financial planning practice centered on retirement planning and tax strategy for people age 50+ with $2M+ in assets. The core offering is Define Financial, a fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm. Supporting the practice are several branded programs: The AGC™ (an online community for financial advisors), the Stay Wealthy Retirement Podcast (a Forbes Top 10 podcast), the Total Retirement System™ (a 4-step planning methodology), the Tax-Smart Retirement Toolkit (free educational resource with weekly newsletter), and the Retirement Podcast Network (content aggregation platform). The portfolio forms an integrated financial education and planning ecosystem combining direct client services with educational content and advisor community building.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The AGC™: The #1 online community for financial advisors dedicated to growing personally and professionally alongside their peers. Benefits include weekly webinars, access to the private community, monthly guest lectures, digital book club, freelancer marketplace, annual meet-ups, and more. Founded by Taylor Schulte and Justin Castelli.
• Stay Wealthy
• Total Retirement System™

Products and services

• Define Financial Advisory Services A fee-only fiduciary financial planning service for individuals aged 50+ with $2M+ in investable assets, providing comprehensive retirement planning, tax strategy, and investment management delivered through the Total Retirement System™ framework.
• The AGC™ (Advisor Growth Community) A paid online community for financial advisors offering weekly webinars, private community access, monthly guest lectures, a digital book club, a freelancer marketplace, and annual meet-ups, dedicated to helping advisors grow personally and professionally.
• Total Retirement System™ A proprietary 4-step retirement planning methodology that connects taxes, income, and investments to deliver clarity, confidence, and an adaptable retirement plan for clients of Define Financial.
• Stay Wealthy Retirement Podcast A media property hosted by Taylor Schulte delivering research-backed ideas on retirement, taxes, and investing to a national audience of retirement savers.
• Retirement Podcast Network A podcast network founded by Taylor Schulte that aggregates and produces podcasts covering retirement planning, taxes, and financial planning topics.

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

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Justin CastellicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder of The AGC™ (Advisor Growth Community), the #1 online community for financial advisors dedicated to growing personally and professionally alongside their peers. The community offers weekly webinars, private community access, monthly guest lectures, digital book club, freelancer marketplace, and annual meet-ups.
• Michael KitcesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaylor Schulte serves as Co-Host of Kitces Summit alongside Michael Kitces, a prominent figure in the financial planning industry.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Betterment: Digital-first wealth management and retirement account platform offering automated investing and advising. Targets retail and mass-affluent savers with a low-cost, self-service-plus-CFP model adjacent to Define Financial's human advisory offering.
• Wealthfront: Leading robo-advisor and digital wealth platform offering automated investment management, retirement accounts, and now financial planning. Reaches a younger, lower-minimum client base but competes for the same retirement planning mind-share.

Direct peers

• Ritholtz Wealth Management: Fee-only RIA founded by Barry Ritholtz with a similar boutique structure and podcast/content-driven client acquisition model (The Indicator, Masters of Business). Targets high-net-worth investors with a comprehensive planning approach.
• Buckingham Strategic Wealth: Fee-only fiduciary RIA specializing in comprehensive financial planning and wealth management for individuals and families. Similar fee-only, fiduciary model with a focus on tax-efficient retirement and investment planning.
• Carson Wealth: Fee-only RIA serving individuals and families with a focus on comprehensive financial planning, retirement, and tax strategy. Operates a national network of advisors with similar clientele and values-driven fiduciary approach.
• Facet Wealth: Fee-only digital-first RIA providing flat-fee financial planning and investment advice to clients across the U.S. Targets mass affluent and high-net-worth households with a tech-enabled, remote-first advisory model.

Others

• Kitces (Michael Kitces): Premier financial advisor industry research, education, and community platform. Taylor Schulte co-hosts the Kitces Summit; the relationship is partnership-level but Kitces is not a direct RIA competitor — it is an industry enablement and content ecosystem that overlaps with the AGC community.

Broad incumbents

• Fisher Investments: Large global RIA serving high-net-worth and institutional clients with portfolio management and retirement income strategies. Overlaps in the retirement-income-focused, high-net-worth advisory space.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Large national RIA combining personal financial planning with employer-sponsored retirement plan services. Represents the scaled, full-service competitor to boutique fee-only retirement-focused firms.
• Creative Planning: One of the largest independent fee-only RIAs in the U.S., offering comprehensive financial planning, retirement, tax, and estate services to high-net-worth clients. Significantly broader scale and capability footprint than Define Financial.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/DefineFinancial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/taylor-schulte

Compliance1 record

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 TS Consulting