Built by Fee-Only Advisors Who Lived the Problem
APFORIA (Atlantic to Pacific Fee-Only Registered Investment Adviser) is an SEC-registered umbrella RIA founded in 2023 by three independent fee-only advisors who built their own firms from the ground up.
After experiencing the complications of multi-state registration firsthand, they created a better model: one SEC registration, shared compliance infrastructure, and the ability for each advisor to operate under their own name and brand.
APFORIA was built by advisors, for advisors.
A Vision Born from Shared Values
In 2018, Redeployment Wealth Strategies (RWS) was founded in Virginia. A year later, Clear Insight Financial Planning (CIFP) was established in Washington. Though the two firms were unaware of each other at the time, their missions were strikingly similar: to provide fee-only financial advice to military and veteran families, without any minimum asset requirements.
Rapid Growth & Increasing Complexity
Both RWS and CIFP experienced rapid growth, expanding to serve hundreds of families across multiple states. By 2023, each firm was registered in seven different states, navigating an increasingly complex compliance landscape. The administrative burden was becoming unsustainable.
A Fortuitous Meeting & a Bold Idea
At a conference in 2023, we compared our client lists and recognized a unique opportunity. By merging, our combined firm would need to register in 16 states—a number qualifying 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.
A Collaborative Model for Success
APFORIA now serves as a robust support system, managing critical compliance functions for what we call our "Tenant Firms." This innovative model allows each original firm to maintain its their distinct brand identity while benefiting from shared resources and reduced administrative complexity.
The Birth of APFORIA
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 (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.
Our Leadership Team
Adrienne Ross
CFP®, ChFC®, AFC®, MQFP®
Chief Financial Officer
