Our Journey to Reimagining Investment Advisory Services
We began with two separate but similar visions. In 2018, Paul Allen and Sean Gillespie founded Redeployment Wealth Strategies (RWS) in Virginia. In 2019, Adrienne Ross established Clear Insight Financial Planning (CIFP) in Washington. We did not yet know each other, but our shared mission was clear: provide fee-only financial advice to military and veteran families, with no minimum asset requirements.
Both firms experienced rapid growth, quickly expanding to serve hundreds of families across multiple states. By 2023, RWS and CIFP were each registered in seven different states, facing an increasingly complex compliance landscape. The administrative burden was becoming unsustainable.
At a conference that year, we compared our client lists and recognized an opportunity. If we merged, our combined firm would need to register in 16 states—a number that would qualify us for SEC registration under the multi-state adviser exception. The prospect of reducing our regulatory overhead from seven different regulators to just one was incredibly appealing.
However, merging wasn’t simple. While our firms shared core values, we had distinct approaches to fee structures and financial planning. We wanted the benefits of collaboration without sacrificing the unique identity of our individual practices.
Thus, the Collaborative RIA concept was born. We created a new business entity, APFORIA (an acronym for Atlantic to Pacific Fee-Only Registered Investment Adviser), and registered it with the SEC. All our registrations and client contracts were transferred to this new entity, while RWS and CIFP retained their original structure and continued providing direct financial planning services to clients.
APFORIA now serves as a robust support system, handling critical compliance and back-office functions for what we call our “Tenant Firms.” This innovative model allows each original firm to maintain its autonomy while benefiting from shared resources and reduced administrative complexity.
Our concept quickly gained traction. Colleagues and fellow fee-only investment advisors began asking if they could join our collaborative approach. The answer is a resounding yes. If you’re running a fee-only investment advisory firm and want to streamline your compliance processes, we want to hear from you.
Would you like to reduce your regulatory headaches and focus more on serving your clients? Contact APFORIA—we’re here to help.
* Registration with the SEC does not indicate an endorsement of our knowledge or skills. Registration means only that we met the minimum requirements for licensure.