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Monarch Plan Advisors
Monarch Plan Advisors was founded as a registered investment advisor anchored by its Simi Valley headquarters. The firm positions itself as an outsourced...
Monarch Plan Advisors
Monarch Plan Advisors was founded as a registered investment advisor anchored by its Simi Valley headquarters. The firm positions itself as an outsourced benefits or HR department for plan sponsors, with a mandate to provide ongoing fiduciary investment monitoring and participant education. Its client base spans corporate, non-profit, and governmental retirement plans, with advisors required to meet a distinct proficiency threshold: anyone conducting participant enrollment meetings must be a CFP® professional, enrolled in CFP® coursework, or have completed the program — a rule the firm exempts only for meetings conducted in languages other than English. Monarch operates solely on a fee-only model, charging a percentage of assets or a billable fee, and takes co-fiduciary responsibility for the plans it oversees. The firm focuses on defined-contribution plan consulting rather than direct investment management or alternative assets. Its work includes plan design, investment menu construction, ongoing fund monitoring, and participant communication. Geographic coverage is national but concentrated in the United States, with no international offices disclosed. Team size and total assets under advisement are not publicly reported, but the firm has drawn repeated industry press attention. It earned NA Net's Top DC Advisor Teams award in March 2021, March 2022, and March 2025, based on year-end plan assets as of the prior December 31. Separately, the Top Plan Advisors Under 40 award recognized Monarch professionals in consecutive years from 2018 through 2020. In 2018, NA Net featured Steven Wilkinson in a magazine article profiling the “Young Guys” reshaping the retirement advisory landscape. Monarch's structural differentiator lies in its combination of a pure fiduciary RIA model with a mandatory CFP® pipeline for client-facing advisors — a self-enforced standard that exceeds the regulatory minimum for retirement plan consultants. The firm does not maintain a philanthropic foundation, venture arm, or sidecar vehicles, keeping its architecture as a focused, fee-only retirement advisory practice without conflicting product-selling or broker-dealer affiliations.
General information
Firm type
Retirement Plan Advisor
Year founded
2017
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Simi Valley
Corporate office
Simi Valley, CA, United States
Principals
Steven Wilkinson
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Monarch Plan Advisors?
Steven Wilkinson is the only named principal on the firm’s website, and the publication NA Net profiled him as a key figure in the retirement advisory space in 2018. The firm does not publicly disclose a formal investment committee or CIO title, but all advisors are bound by the firm’s fiduciary standard as co-fiduciaries to plan sponsors.
Does Monarch Plan Advisors earn commissions on the funds it recommends?
No. Monarch is a fee-only RIA, compensated by a percentage of assets or a billable fee. The firm is prohibited by its structure from receiving commissions, and it publicly states that this distinction — acting as a co-investment fiduciary rather than a commission-based broker — is core to its model.
What types of retirement plans does Monarch serve?
Monarch advises 401(k), 403(b), and Section 457 plans, covering corporate, non-profit, and governmental sponsors. Its services include plan design consulting, investment menu construction, ongoing fund monitoring, and participant education.
Is Monarch Plan Advisors structured as a family office or does it operate differently?
Monarch is not a family office. It operates as a registered investment advisor focused exclusively on employer-sponsored retirement plans, functioning as an outsourced benefits or HR department for plan sponsors rather than managing private family wealth.
Does Monarch make direct investments or participate in fund commitments?
Monarch does not make direct private investments or participate in fund commitments. Its work is limited to defined-contribution plan consulting — advising on investment menus of existing publicly offered mutual funds and collective trusts, monitoring those funds, and educating participants.
What credentialing requirements does Monarch enforce for its advisors?
Monarch requires that any advisor presenting retirement options at an enrollment meeting be a Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®), actively studying for the CFP® exam, or have passed the CFP® coursework. This rule applies to all meetings conducted in English, a standard the firm adopted voluntarily beyond regulatory minimums.
Has Monarch Plan Advisors received industry recognition?
Yes. The firm earned the NA Net Top DC Advisor Teams award in 2021, 2022, and 2025. It also had advisors named to the Top Plan Advisors Under 40 list in 2018, 2019, and 2020, and was featured in a 2018 NA Net magazine article highlighting young advisors reshaping the industry (per firm website).
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