Aluman

Wealth Management and Financial Advisory Servicesalumanfinancial.com

aLuman Inc. is a Portland-based, SEC-registered, fee-only investment adviser providing financial planning and investment management services to a select number of individual and family clients across the United States.

Company typePrivate
Founded2015
HeadquartersPortland, United States
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2C
OfferingServices

What Aluman does

Aluman (legal entity aLuman Inc.) is a privately held, SEC-registered investment adviser providing fee-only financial planning and investment management services to a small number of individual and family clients. Founded in 2015 by Garth Shinn, CFP®, originally as Illuminate Financial and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the firm operates as a boutique practice built around long-term, deep advisory relationships rather than scale. The firm offers two service tiers: a Full Financial Planning Services engagement covering investment management, retirement planning, education funding, and life-goal coordination, and a Quick Start Discussion for prospective clients not yet ready to commit to full planning.

The underlying service model is human-led and judgment-based, with no proprietary technology platform, software products, or AI components disclosed. Core advisory expertise is delivered by two CFP®-credentialed planners—Garth Shinn (30+ years in financial services) and Keaton Shinn (neuroscience background with a behavioral finance focus)—supported by Kate Shinn, who joined in 2024 in a communications role.

Aluman's business model is fee-only recurring revenue: the firm charges subscription/annual fees and does not earn commissions on product sales, aligning advisor incentives with client interests. Customer acquisition is described as primarily referral- and relationship-driven, with no institutional marketing infrastructure. The firm is family-influenced, founder-controlled, has no institutional funding, no parent company, and serves clients exclusively in the United States.

Aluman firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Aluman
Legal name: aLuman Inc.
Website: https://alumanfinancial.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2015
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: aLuman Inc. is a Portland-based, SEC-registered, fee-only investment adviser providing financial planning and investment management services to a select number of individual and family clients across the United States.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Aluman industry classification

Industry

Product category: Wealth Management and Financial Advisory Services
NAICS: Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
SIC: Investment Advice (6282)
akta.pro primary industry: Fee-Only Advisory (FSAEAAAL)
akta.pro secondary industry: Advisory Portfolio Management (Non-Discretionary) (FSAAABAD)

Keywords

Fee-only financial planning
Investment management services
Wealth advisory
Retirement planning
Behavioral finance advising

Where Aluman is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Portland
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Aluman business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

Fee-Only Financial Planning and Asset Management: Aluman operates as a fee-only Registered Investment Adviser, providing comprehensive financial planning and investment management services. The firm does not earn commissions on product sales, aligning advisor incentives with client interests.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Subscription	Annual	Full Financial Planning Services

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Aluman product offering

Product offering

Core offering

aLuman provides fee-only financial planning and asset management services as a SEC-registered investment adviser. The firm integrates clients' core values with their financial resources through comprehensive planning covering investment management, retirement planning, education funding, and life-goal coordination. Services are delivered through two named offerings: Full Financial Planning Services for ongoing comprehensive advisory and a Quick Start Discussion for prospective clients not yet ready for full engagement.

Product overview

Aluman is a fee-only financial planning and asset management firm offering two main service offerings: Full Financial Planning Services for comprehensive financial planning and investment management, and a Quick Start Discussion for initial consultations. The firm focuses on integrating clients' core values with their financial resources to help them prosper in all areas of life.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Full Financial Planning Services Comprehensive fee-only financial planning and asset management for individuals and families, integrating core values with financial resources. Covers investment management, retirement planning, education funding, and coordination of life goals such as trips of a lifetime and ideal work schedules, with research, analysis, prioritization, and implementation of tailored financial strategies.
Quick Start Discussion An introductory consultation with a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) at aLuman for prospective clients who are not yet ready to begin full financial planning and asset management, providing initial guidance and assessment.

Companies that use Aluman

Customer profile

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Aluman technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Aluman partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Aluman competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Facet Wealth: Facet Wealth is a tech-enabled, fee-only financial planning firm serving individuals and families nationwide with subscription-based comprehensive planning. Directly comparable to Aluman as a fee-only RIA offering personalized planning for households, though with a technology-driven delivery model at much larger scale.
Ritholtz Wealth Management: Ritholtz Wealth Management is a fee-only RIA providing financial planning and investment management with a behavioral-finance-influenced investment philosophy. Directly comparable to Aluman as a boutique, fee-only advisory firm emphasizing evidence-based and behavioral investing for individual clients.
Ellevest: Ellevest is a fee-only financial planning and investment platform initially built for women. Comparable to Aluman in providing subscription-style financial planning and investment management to individuals, with a differentiated audience focus and broader digital reach.

Broad incumbents

Empower Personal Dashboard: Empower (formerly Personal Capital) provides hybrid wealth management combining digital tools with human advisor access for high-net-worth individuals. Comparable to Aluman as an advice provider for individuals with investable assets, though with a much larger technology and balance-sheet footprint.
Carson Wealth: Carson Group (formerly Carson Wealth) is a large RIA platform and partnership network supporting independent financial advisors. Operates in the same fee-only advisory space as Aluman but at vastly greater scale, with a platform model designed for advisor productivity and growth.
Edelman Financial Engines: Edelman Financial Engines is one of the largest independent RIAs in the US, providing fee-based financial planning and investment management to individuals and workplace participants. Broad incumbent competing for the same individual client base as Aluman but with national scale and corporate-channel distribution.

Emerging players

Wealthfront: Wealthfront is an automated investment advisory (robo-advisor) offering portfolio management and limited financial planning. Comparable to Aluman as an investment advisory provider for individuals, but competing via low-fee, technology-driven delivery rather than human-led deep relationships.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Aluman compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance2 records

Aluman financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Aluman leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Aluman funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Aluman M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aluman

What does Aluman do?

Is Aluman a public or private company?

Aluman is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.

When was Aluman founded?

Aluman was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is Aluman based?

Aluman is headquartered in Portland, United States, in the North America region.

How does Aluman make money?

One revenue line is on record: fee-Only Financial Planning and Asset Management.

Who are Aluman's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Facet Wealth, Ritholtz Wealth Management and Ellevest. Broad incumbents are Empower Personal Dashboard, Carson Wealth and Edelman Financial Engines. Wealthfront is listed as an emerging player.

Does Aluman have an API?

No public API is recorded for Aluman.

What industry is Aluman in?

Aluman's product category is Wealth Management and Financial Advisory Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAEAAAL, Fee-Only Advisory, with a secondary code of FSAAABAD, Advisory Portfolio Management (Non-Discretionary). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.