Creative Planning

Creative Planning, LLC is an independent wealth-management firm and registered investment adviser headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. Founded in 1983, the business provides fiduciary investment advice and a broad set of financial-planning, retirement-plan, tax, accounting, estate-planning, and related advisory services through its operating businesses and affiliates. Its principal market is the United States, where the firm has developed a nationwide advisory footprint and serves clients in all 50 states. The company remained relatively small during its early years. Peter Mallouk joined Creative Planning in 1999 as an estate planner and attorney performing advisory and consulting work. He acquired the business in 2004, when it reportedly managed approximately $34 million for about 30 clients. Mallouk pursued an organic-growth strategy for much of the following decade. Assets under management grew to approximately $591 million by 2007, reached about $2 billion with roughly 1,200 clients in 2011, and exceeded $10 billion in 2014. In 2015, Barron's ranked Creative Planning as the leading independent financial adviser in the United States. By 2017, reported assets under management had reached $26.2 billion, with advisers in more than 30 states and clients nationwide. The firm's growth strategy changed in 2019, when it completed its first acquisition, The Johnston Group of Minneapolis. It subsequently acquired America's Best 401k and OptiFour during the same year. In 2020, Creative Planning accepted minority investment from General Atlantic, its first outside capital, and continued expanding through acquisitions including Iron Financial and Sullivan Bruyette Speros & Blayney. These transactions broadened the firm's geographic reach and added capabilities in retirement-plan administration, expatriate services, and other specialized areas. Creative Planning has continued to expand beyond traditional investment management. It acquired BerganKDV in 2023, adding or strengthening tax, audit, accounting, and business-advisory services. It also agreed in 2023 to acquire Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management, a business associated with Goldman Sachs's earlier purchase of United Capital Financial Partners. In 2021, the firm launched Pathway Financial Education, a Kansas City-area nonprofit initiative intended to provide financial education to small-business owners and communities with limited access to financial resources. The firm emphasizes fiduciary advice and presents itself as an integrated alternative to commission-oriented financial distribution. It does not offer proprietary investments or receive investment commissions, according to the reference material. In March 2021, it began offering equity to approximately 10 percent of its workforce. Peter Mallouk serves as president and chief executive officer and remains the firm's majority owner. The reference material reports that Creative Planning managed approximately $300 billion in assets and employed about 2,100 people across its affiliates in all 50 states as of 2024. Because assets under management and employee counts change over time, those figures should be treated as period-specific rather than permanent company attributes.

Creative Planning began in 1983 in Overland Park, Kansas, initially operating as a small division within a broader financial-services organization. Its early business focused on financial advice and planning rather than the diversified national platform it would later become. Peter Mallouk joined the firm in 1999 as an estate planner and attorney, while also performing consulting functions. He acquired Creative Planning in 2004. At that time, the business reportedly managed about $34 million for approximately 30 clients. Mallouk concentrated first on organic expansion, building a fiduciary advisory model without acquisitions, a bank affiliation, or a trust-company relationship. By 2007, reported assets under management had risen to $591 million. The firm reached approximately $2 billion and about 1,200 clients in 2011, then exceeded $10 billion in 2014. In 2015, Barron's named Creative Planning the leading independent financial adviser in the United States. By 2017, reported assets under management were $26.2 billion, and the company had advisers in more than 30 states while serving clients in every state. The company's national expansion was accompanied by a headquarters transition. In 2017, Creative Planning began planning a move from Leawood back to Overland Park. Its headquarters subsequently became a three-building campus near Interstate 435. Creative Planning's regulatory history includes a 2018 SEC enforcement action. The agency fined the firm $200,000, censured it, and required a cease-and-desist undertaking concerning radio advertisements in which a client and radio host gave testimonials. The advertisements were found to violate requirements under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Mallouk said he was unaware of the content, but he was separately fined $50,000 for failing to report investments held by family members in the firm. In 2019, Creative Planning moved away from an exclusively organic-growth model. It acquired The Johnston Group of Minneapolis in February, America's Best 401k in September, and OptiFour of McLean, Virginia, in November. In February 2020, General Atlantic purchased a minority stake, providing the firm's first outside capital. Additional acquisitions included Iron Financial, an Illinois firm with approximately $6 billion in assets under management, and Virginia-based Sullivan Bruyette Speros & Blayney, with approximately $5 billion. By November 2020, the firm had completed 11 acquisitions representing approximately $7.2 billion in additional assets, according to the cited material. The enlarged platform added or strengthened retirement-plan services, expatriate services, and other specialist offerings. In April 2021, Creative Planning launched Pathway Financial Education, a Kansas City-based nonprofit initiative backed by BlackRock, Dimensional Fund Advisors, and other advisory firms. The program was designed to provide financial education to small-business owners and under-resourced communities. In the same year, the company began offering equity to approximately 10 percent of its workforce and announced that assets under management had surpassed $100 billion. Expansion continued in 2023. Creative Planning acquired BerganKDV, adding the target's accounting, tax, audit, and business-advisory capabilities to its wealth-management platform. It also agreed to acquire Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management. By 2024, the cited reference described Creative Planning as managing approximately $300 billion in assets and employing around 2,100 people across affiliates in all 50 states. Peter Mallouk remains president and chief executive officer and is identified as the firm's majority owner. The business continues to operate as a private, independent registered investment adviser with a broad, integrated financial-services offering.

1. 2023BerganKDV acquisition expands professional services

   The acquisition adds or broadens accounting, tax, audit, and business-advisory capabilities.

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2. 2023Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management acquisition announced

   Creative Planning agrees to acquire Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management.

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3. 2021Pathway Financial Education launches

   The firm establishes a nonprofit financial-education initiative for small-business owners and under-resourced communities.

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4. 2021Assets under management exceed $100 billion

   Creative Planning announces that its assets under management have passed $100 billion.

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5. 2020General Atlantic takes a minority stake

   The firm accepts its first outside capital and continues acquiring advisory businesses.

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6. 2019First acquisitions begin

   Creative Planning acquires The Johnston Group, America's Best 401k, and OptiFour.

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7. 2017National platform expands

   Reported assets under management reach $26.2 billion, with advisers in more than 30 states and clients in all 50 states.

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8. 2015Creative Planning is ranked a leading independent adviser

   Barron's ranks Creative Planning as the top independent financial adviser in the United States.

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9. 2014Assets under management exceed $10 billion

   The firm surpasses the $10 billion assets-under-management threshold without acquisitions or a bank or trust-company affiliation.

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10. 2011Assets under management reach approximately $2 billion

    Creative Planning serves approximately 1,200 clients.

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11. 2007Assets under management reach approximately $591 million

    The firm reports substantial growth during its organic-expansion period.

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12. 2004Mallouk acquires Creative Planning

    Peter Mallouk acquires the business when it has approximately $34 million in assets under management and around 30 clients.

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13. 1999Peter Mallouk joins the firm

    Mallouk begins working with Creative Planning as an estate planner and attorney.

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14. 1983Creative Planning is founded

    The firm is established in Overland Park, Kansas.

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A nationwide, independent fiduciary wealth-management platform combining investment advice with financial planning and expanded tax, accounting, retirement, and business-advisory capabilities.

• Wealth managementInvestment advisory

  Creative Planning's core offering combines portfolio management with broader financial planning. As an independent registered investment adviser, the firm positions its advice as fiduciary in nature and states that it does not offer proprietary investments or receive investment commissions. Services are aimed at individuals, families, business owners, and other clients seeking coordinated long-term financial advice.

• Financial planningPersonal financial services

  Financial planning supports clients with decisions involving investment strategy, retirement, estate planning, cash flow, and related personal-finance needs. The offering is designed to connect investment management with advice on wider financial objectives rather than treating portfolio management as a stand-alone product.

• Retirement-plan servicesEmployer-sponsored retirement2019

  Creative Planning expanded into retirement-plan services through acquisitions including America's Best 401k and other advisory businesses. The category serves employers and plan participants with retirement-plan design, advisory, education, and related support.

• Tax, accounting, and business advisoryProfessional financial services2023

  The firm's acquisitions, particularly BerganKDV, broadened its platform beyond investment advice into tax, accounting, audit, and business-advisory work. These capabilities support business owners, high-net-worth families, and organizations that require coordinated financial and professional-services advice.

• Expatriate financial servicesSpecialized financial planning

  Creative Planning added expatriate-related services as its acquisition program expanded. The offering addresses financial-planning needs associated with clients living or working across national borders, although the cited material does not specify its detailed product structure.

• 2021Pathway Financial Education

  United States · Kansas City region

  Creative Planning launched Pathway Financial Education, a nonprofit initiative focused on financial education for small-business owners and communities with limited resources. BlackRock, Dimensional Fund Advisors, and other financial-advisory organizations supported the initiative.

  Outcome. The cited material confirms the launch and intended audience but does not provide a quantified outcome.

  Source

• 2023Broaden the platform through BerganKDV and Goldman Sachs PFMM&A

  Creative Planning continued to expand from investment management into accounting, tax, business advisory, and additional personal-financial-planning capabilities.

  What changed. The firm acquired BerganKDV and agreed to acquire Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management.

  Aftermath. The transactions were intended to broaden service capabilities and national scale; the cited material does not establish the final completion status of the Goldman Sachs transaction.

  Source
• 2021Launch Pathway Financial EducationStrategy

  The firm sought to extend its financial-literacy work beyond its paying advisory clientele.

  What changed. Creative Planning created a Kansas City-based nonprofit focused on small-business owners and under-resourced communities.

  Aftermath. The initiative received backing from BlackRock, Dimensional Fund Advisors, and other advisory firms; no quantified long-term outcome is provided in the cited material.

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• 2020Accept minority outside capital from General AtlanticM&A

  Creative Planning had historically expanded without outside equity capital, but its acquisition program created a need for additional financial and strategic resources.

  What changed. The firm sold a minority stake to General Atlantic, its first reported outside capital investment.

  Aftermath. Creative Planning continued its acquisition program and added retirement, expatriate, and other specialized services.

  Source
• 2019Adopt an acquisition-led expansion strategyM&A

  After years of organic growth, Creative Planning sought to expand its geographic reach and service capabilities through acquisitions.

  What changed. The firm acquired The Johnston Group, followed later in the year by America's Best 401k and OptiFour.

  Aftermath. The transactions marked a shift from the firm's earlier strictly organic-growth model and helped establish a broader national platform.

  Source

• 2018SEC enforcement action over radio testimonialsControversy

  The SEC fined Creative Planning $200,000, censured the firm, and required a cease-and-desist undertaking after radio advertisements used testimonials from a client who hosted the program. The advertisements were treated as violating requirements under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Peter Mallouk was separately fined $50,000 for failing to report family members' investments in the firm.

  Source

• 2023Creative Planning acquires BerganKDV

  The acquisition of BerganKDV, an accounting and wealth-management firm with reported assets under management of approximately $2.5 billion, expanded Creative Planning's tax, audit, accounting, and business-advisory capabilities.

  M&A
  Source
• 2023Creative Planning agrees to acquire Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management

  Creative Planning announced an agreement to acquire Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management, a personal-financial-advisory business connected to Goldman Sachs's earlier acquisition of United Capital Financial Partners.

  M&A
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• 2021Creative Planning reaches $100 billion in assets under management

  The firm announced that assets under management had exceeded $100 billion, reflecting its acquisition-led expansion and growing national advisory platform.

  Other
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• 2020Creative Planning accepts minority investment from General Atlantic

  Creative Planning accepted its first outside capital through the sale of a minority stake to private-equity investor General Atlantic.

  M&A
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• 2019Creative Planning acquires The Johnston Group

  The acquisition of Minneapolis-based registered investment adviser The Johnston Group, which oversaw approximately $500 million, marked Creative Planning's first acquisition and the beginning of a more active inorganic-growth strategy.

  M&A
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1. Creative Planning