# Illumination Wealth Management

Illumination Wealth Management is a Bank / Wealth / Trust based in San Diego, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Bank / Wealth / Trust
- **Headquarters:** San Diego, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** San Diego, CA, United States
- **Founded:** 2009
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** illuminationwealth.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/illumination-wealth-management

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 149576
- **SEC file number:** 801-122912
- **Registration status:** APPROVED
- **Latest Form ADV filing:** 2026-05-19T05:00:00.000Z
- **Reports private funds:** No
- **Private funds reported:** 0
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/149576

## About

John P. Messinger established Illumination Wealth Management in 2009, anchoring the firm in San Diego. The practice operates as a registered investment advisor, a structure that legally binds it to a fiduciary standard. Its client base spans individuals, high-net-worth families, trusts, and corporate accounts, positioning the firm within the fragmented universe of independent US wealth managers rather than among institutionally scaled platforms. Messinger structured the firm to deliver integrated financial planning alongside discretionary portfolio management, a model that emphasizes long-term client relationships over transactional brokerage. The firm's investment posture centers on traditional wealth-management asset classes, including publicly traded equities and fixed income, with portfolio construction tailored to individual client objectives. Illumination Wealth Management deploys capital primarily through separately managed accounts and model portfolios rather than through commingled proprietary funds. The geographic focus remains domestic, with clients concentrated in Southern California and the broader Western United States. While the firm does not publicize specific portfolio holdings, standard allocations for RIAs of its profile typically include large-cap US equities, municipal and corporate bonds, and ETF-based passive exposure. Illumination Wealth Management maintains a deliberately lean operational footprint from its single San Diego office. The firm does not disclose total assets under management, a common posture among smaller independent advisors who prioritize client privacy over industry benchmarking. No adjacent private-fund vehicles, philanthropic foundations, or real-asset operating companies are publicly associated with the firm. A structural differentiator for Illumination Wealth Management is its composition as a true independent advisory practice rather than a bank trust department or a broker-dealer affiliate. This independence eliminates the conflicts of proprietary product sales and allows the firm to construct portfolios without an in-house product shelf. For a small- to mid-sized RIA serving a high-net-worth client base, that clean fiduciary positioning remains the core architectural distinction, even as the wider industry consolidates toward aggregator platforms and turnkey asset management programs.

## People

- John P. Messinger — Founder and CEO

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Illumination Wealth Management?

John P. Messinger, the founder and CEO, leads the firm's investment and advisory efforts. He established the practice in 2009 and guides overall portfolio strategy for the firm's high-net-worth and corporate clients. As a registered investment advisor, Illumination Wealth Management operates under a fiduciary standard that requires investment decisions to prioritize client interests above all else.

### Is Illumination Wealth Management structured as a fiduciary?

Yes. As a registered investment advisor regulated by the SEC or state securities authorities, Illumination Wealth Management has a legal fiduciary duty to act in its clients' best interests. This standard is stricter than the suitability standard that governs broker-dealers and requires full disclosure of any potential conflicts of interest.

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

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