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truFP
truFP launched in 2008 in Cumming, Georgia, as an independent financial planning and investment advisory practice. Principal owner Ken Bellavance, alongside...
truFP
truFP launched in 2008 in Cumming, Georgia, as an independent financial planning and investment advisory practice. Principal owner Ken Bellavance, alongside partner Andrew Castleberry, built the firm by rejecting commissionable products, proprietary funds, and annuities — a posture that distinguishes truFP from the broker-dealer culture of North Georgia. The firm operates a second office in Gainesville, Georgia, and maintains a team of planners, paraplanners, and client-service staff who emphasize debt elimination and legacy planning. The firm manages discretionary portfolios for individuals and high-net-worth households, covering asset allocation, retirement planning, and tax-aware positioning. Its investment process avoids proprietary products and instead draws from an open-architecture, fiduciary framework. Service lines extend into insurance planning, estate coordination, education funding, and small-business planning. truFP does not publish discrete asset-class targets, but its website and SmartVestor affiliation signal a preference for low-cost, diversified funds paired with ongoing behavioral coaching. The practice operates across Forsyth and Hall counties, serving a client base concentrated in suburban North Georgia. Ken Bellavance joined the Dave Ramsey SmartVestor Pro network early in his career, a relationship now spanning more than two decades. In 2025, the firm added depth when Pat Paxton — a 40-year industry veteran and former stockbroker — sold a portion of his practice to Bellavance and Castleberry, integrating his book into truFP while remaining active as a financial planner. The team has grown to include multiple CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals, a paraplanner, and a client-support staff of seven across both offices. The firm’s structural differentiator is its exclusive alignment with the Ramsey Solutions ecosystem. Unlike most RIAs that source clients through referrals or search, truFP’s primary intake channel is the SmartVestor Pro marketplace — a curated directory of providers who adhere to Ramsey’s principles of no debt, term-life-only insurance, and front-load-free mutual funds. This relationship subjects truFP to ongoing vetting by Ramsey Solutions and creates a client pipeline pre-conditioned to the firm’s fiduciary, planning-heavy model.
General information
Firm type
Single Family Office
Year founded
2008
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Cumming
Corporate office
3550 Rowe Ln, Cumming, GA 30041, United States
Additional offices
Gainesville, GA, United States
Principals
Ken Bellavance
Principal Owner & Financial Planner
Andrew Castleberry
Partner, CFO, Financial Planner
Pat Paxton
Financial Planner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What is truFP's relationship with Dave Ramsey?
truFP has been an Endorsed Local Provider and SmartVestor Pro in the Ramsey Solutions network for more than 20 years. This status requires adherence to Ramsey’s investment philosophy — no-load mutual funds, fiduciary advice, and opposition to whole-life insurance and high-fee products — and subjects the firm to periodic review by Ramsey Solutions. It is not an ownership or revenue-sharing relationship; truFP remains independently owned by Ken Bellavance and his partners.
Does truFP sell any commissionable products?
No. The firm states on its website that it offers no commissionable products, no proprietary funds, no annuities, and no products tied to third-party selling agreements. It operates as a 100% fee-only fiduciary, meaning revenue comes solely from client-paid advisory fees, removing embedded sales incentives from its client relationships.
Who leads investment decisions at truFP?
Principal owner Ken Bellavance and partner Andrew Castleberry jointly shape portfolio strategy, drawing on Castleberry's CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation and Bellavance's two decades of field experience. The firm does not employ a dedicated chief investment officer or investment committee beyond the core principal team. Day-to-day client portfolios are managed by the planning staff.
What does truFP's client base look like geographically?
truFP serves families and small business owners primarily across North Georgia, with physical offices in Cumming and Gainesville. Its SmartVestor endorsement area covers the same region, and the firm’s community involvement — through Leadership Forsyth, local chambers, and church youth ministry — anchors its presence in Forsyth and Hall counties.
How did the 2025 Pat Paxton transaction change the firm?
In 2025, 40-year industry veteran Pat Paxton sold a portion of his advisory book to Ken Bellavance and Andrew Castleberry and integrated his practice into truFP. Paxton remains as a financial planner, widening the firm's client base and adding institutional memory without altering its fee-only, fiduciary model. The transaction also allowed Paxton to reduce administrative load while continuing to serve clients.
Is truFP hiring or bringing on advisor teams?
The firm publicly states it runs a mentoring program for new entrants and invites experienced advisors to transition their books into truFP. It explicitly contrasts this with the 'churn' culture at large broker-dealers, offering a team-based model where incoming advisors can join without rebuilding back-office infrastructure.
How does truFP source clients beyond the SmartVestor network?
While the SmartVestor Pro marketplace is the primary identifiable channel, the website offers a free consultation form, and the firm engages in community outreach through local chambers, church groups, and educational content on its website. There is no evidence of paid digital marketing, seminar pipelines, or third-party lead generation.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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