Old Oak Financial Planning

Old Oak Financial Planning

Founded in 1995 and based in Brighton, Michigan, Old Oak Financial Planning is a registered investment advisor anchored in the retail wealth corridor between Detroit and Ann Arbor. The firm was built to serve individuals and high-net-worth clients, not institutions, and it has retained that posture for three decades. Its longevity in a consolidating RIA market suggests a stable local book, likely built on retirement-planning relationships, insurance-adjacent advising, and word-of-mouth referrals in Livingston County. The firm's investment advisory services center on financial planning, retirement planning, and portfolio management — a classic triad for a Main Street RIA. Its public disclosures indicate it works with individuals and high-net-worth individuals, pointing to a client base that spans mass-affluent retirees and local business owners. Old Oak's structure as an RIA means it carries a fiduciary duty to clients under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, a legal distinction that separates it from broker-dealers. The firm's geographic focus is southeastern Michigan, with no evidence of satellite offices or out-of-state licensing. Old Oak does not publish AUM figures, team headcounts, or named principals in accessible public records — a common profile for small RIAs that custody assets at third-party platforms like Schwab or Fidelity and serve a concentrated book of households. The firm's website, oldoakfinancial.com, is operational, but detailed strategy or team pages were not captured in the research record. No recent operational event, acquisition, or personnel change was verifiable as of May 2026. The absence of LinkedIn or ADV filings in the research corpus limits further structural detail. What distinguishes Old Oak structurally is its endurance as a single-office, likely founder-led RIA in a market where private equity-backed aggregators have been rolling up firms of its size for the past decade. Remaining independent since 1995 without public M&A activity signals a deliberate choice — either a lifestyle practice designed for steady income rather than scale, or a deeply embedded local franchise that has resisted outside capital. Either way, the firm competes on longevity and relationship continuity in a region where trust-based advising still carries weight against national brands.