Creative Planning


Creative Planning is an independent wealth management firm and registered investment advisor owned by American financial advisor Peter Mallouk. The firm was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Leawood, Kansas. The company provides wealth management, financial planning, estate planning, tax planning and charitable giving services to individuals and institutions.

History

Creative Planning was founded in 1983 in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. Peter Mallouk acquired the company in 2004 after working for the firm for five years as an estate planner. Mallouk reestablished Creative Planning as an independent wealth management firm and registered investment advisor. At the time, the firm managed assets estimated at $34 million.
By 2017, the company had grown its assets under management to $26.2 billion with advisers located in more than 30 states, and clients in all 50 US states.
A $200,000 fine by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against the firm was the result of a series of radio advertisements heard in live and pre-recorded broadcasts by a radio show host who was a client of the firm. The host gave testimonials for the firm in violation of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. In addition to the fine Creative Planning was censured and agreed to a cease and desist order. Mallouk stated that he was unaware of the content of the ads. He was also fined $50,000 at the same time, for a failure to report investments by family members in the firm.

Operations

In February 2017, Creative Planning began plans to move its headquarters from Leawood, Kansas, back to Overland Park. As of March 2019, the company has 600 employees.
In early 2019, Creative Planning acquired The Johnston Group, a Minneapolis-based RIA, the company's first acquisition with more than $500 million assets under management. In November of the same year, the company announced that it had acquired OptiFour, an RIA based in McLean, Virginia, managing more than $400 million in assets. As of November 2019, Creative Planning has $45 billion in assets under management.