Sweetgrass Financial Planning

What Sweetgrass Financial Planning does

Sweetgrass Financial Planning, LLC is a fee-only, fiduciary Registered Investment Adviser founded in 2017 by Daniel Patterson, CFP®, and headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina. The firm delivers comprehensive financial planning and investment management to individuals and couples, with a stated focus on busy professionals in their 20s-40s who are in the wealth accumulation phase of life — particularly medical professionals and engineers with complex employer benefit and equity compensation situations. The service offering covers insurance planning, tax planning, investments, employer benefits optimization, debt elimination, college education planning, retirement planning, estate planning, and cash flow management, delivered through quarterly check-ins and annual in-depth reviews with both virtual and in-person meeting options.

The core product stack consists of Comprehensive Financial Planning (priced as a subscription at $400/month for individuals and $500/month for couples, plus a $1,200 one-time onboarding fee), Investment Management (with the first $500,000 of investable assets included in the base fee and additional AUM fees above that threshold per the firm's ADV), and the Quick Start Program as an entry-level alternative. Client assets are held in custody at TD Ameritrade as a third-party custodian. The technology layer is essentially commodity — Calendly for self-serve scheduling, standard video conferencing, Squarespace-hosted website — with the firm emphasizing 'modern' tools paired with current research rather than proprietary platforms. The firm also produces a recurring video blog series, Frothy Finance Friday, and has earned media features in Business Insider, US News & World Report, CBS News, Yahoo Finance, and Credit Karma.

The business model is a recurring subscription revenue stream with modest onboarding and AUM fees layered on. Go-to-market is sales-led and inside-sales-oriented: prospective clients book a complimentary one-hour consultation via Calendly, after which they convert to a monthly planning subscription. The firm serves clients nationally through virtual delivery and locally in the Lowcountry of South Carolina in person, and operates as a single-advisor practice with Daniel Patterson as the sole identified planner, which represents a key-person concentration in both delivery and client relationships.

Name

Sweetgrass Financial Planning

Legal name

Sweetgrass Financial Planning, LLC

Website

https://sweetgrassfp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sweetgrass Financial Planning is a fee-only, fiduciary Registered Investment Adviser in Charleston, SC, founded in 2017 by Daniel Patterson, CFP®, providing subscription-based comprehensive financial planning and investment management to young professional individuals and couples (especially medical professionals and engineers) nationwide via virtual delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Advisory Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Comprehensive Financial Planning (FSAEAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fee-Only Advisory (FSAEAAAL)

Keywords

• Fee-only financial planning
• Investment management services
• Retirement planning advice
• Fiduciary wealth advisory
• Tax and estate planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Charleston

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. Financial Planning Fees (Subscription): Monthly subscription fees for comprehensive financial planning services: $400/month for individuals and $500/month for couples. The first $500,000 of investable assets is included in the base fee. Additional AUM (Assets Under Management) fees apply for assets above $500,000 per the firm's ADV filing. A $1,200 one-time onboarding fee applies for most new clients, with more complex situations potentially higher.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sweetgrass Financial Planning is a fee-only registered investment adviser that delivers comprehensive financial planning and investment management services to busy professionals and their families. Core work covers insurance, tax, investments, employer benefits optimization, debt elimination, college, retirement, estate, and cash flow planning, delivered via monthly subscription retainers plus a one-time onboarding fee and optional AUM fees above $500,000 in investable assets.

Product overview

Sweetgrass Financial Planning is a fee-only, fiduciary financial advisory firm offering comprehensive financial planning services to busy professionals and their families. The core offering consists of Comprehensive Financial Planning (starting at $400/month for individuals) and Investment Management, with the Quick Start Program serving as an entry-level alternative. All planning includes a holistic approach covering insurance, tax planning, investments, employer benefits optimization, debt elimination, college planning, retirement planning, estate planning, and budgeting. The firm also produces educational content through its Frothy Finance Friday video blog series. Investment management is provided through TD Ameritrade as third-party custodian, with the first $500,000 of assets included in the base planning fee and AUM fees applying above that threshold.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Comprehensive Financial Planning Full-service financial planning subscription covering insurance, tax, investments, employer benefits optimization, debt elimination, college education planning, retirement planning, estate planning, and cash flow management. Priced at $400/month for individuals or $500/month for couples with a $1,200 one-time onboarding fee. First $500,000 of investable assets included in base fee; AUM fees apply above that threshold. Designed for busy professionals and their families.
• Investment Management Investment advisory services provided alongside comprehensive financial planning, with client assets custodied at TD Ameritrade. The first $500,000 of investable assets is included in the base planning fee; AUM fees apply above that threshold per the firm's ADV filing. Targets busy professionals seeking ongoing portfolio oversight.
• Quick Start Program An entry-level financial planning option designed for clients who want to get started with planning but may not need the full comprehensive service offering. Serves as an onboarding path into the firm's broader planning services for individuals and families.

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

Integration2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• TD AmeritradecoreTechnology or IntegrationTD Ameritrade serves as the third-party custodian for client assets. The firm uses TD Ameritrade to safeguard client investments, ensuring client assets are held separately from the firm's possession. This provides an additional layer of security and protection for client assets, preventing potential fraud or misappropriation.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Wealthsimple: Wealthsimple offers subscription-tier financial planning combined with managed investing, targeting younger professionals and high-earners — a scaled North American peer with overlapping subscription pricing and target demographic.
• XY Planning Network: XY Planning Network is a network of fee-only financial advisors specifically serving Generation X and younger clients with subscription-based planning — directly comparable in target demographic, fee-only positioning, and CFP®-driven service model.
• Facet Wealth: Facet is a fee-only, fiduciary financial planning firm that uses a subscription-based pricing model and virtual delivery to serve clients nationwide — directly mirroring Sweetgrass's core business model but at significantly greater scale.
• Ellevest: Ellevest provides subscription-based financial planning and investment management with a flat monthly fee structure aimed at professionals building wealth — overlapping with Sweetgrass's subscription pricing and young-professional target.

Broad incumbents

• Wealthfront: Wealthfront is a large robo-advisor with automated financial planning features targeting tech-savvy younger professionals — a scaled competitor in the same planning category but with a primarily automated/digital delivery model.
• Betterment: Betterment is one of the largest robo-advisors offering goal-based financial planning and managed investing — overlaps with Sweetgrass's planning-plus-investing offering but at much greater scale and with a primarily automated model.
• Empower Personal Dashboard (Personal Capital): Empower combines free financial planning tools with an AUM-based advisory service for higher-net-worth clients — a much larger incumbent that overlaps in the comprehensive financial planning category but targets a wealthier client base.
• Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium: Schwab's Premium service pairs automated portfolio management with access to CFP®-led financial planning — a large incumbent with comprehensive planning features overlapping Sweetgrass's core offering.
• Vanguard Personal Advisor Services: Vanguard's hybrid robo-plus-human advisory service targets similar wealth-accumulation clients with comprehensive planning and investment management — a large incumbent competitor with strong brand recognition.

Emerging players

• Boldin (formerly NewRetirement): Boldin offers DIY financial planning software with optional advisor access, addressing the same comprehensive financial planning use cases as Sweetgrass but through a software-led, lower-touch delivery model that overlaps in target customer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC_example
• Facebookfacebook.com/sweetgrassfp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sweetgrass-financial-planning

Compliance2 records

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 Sweetgrass Financial Planning