# Smart Steps Wealth Management

Smart Steps Wealth Management is a Bank / Wealth / Trust based in St. Louis, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Bank / Wealth / Trust
- **Headquarters:** St. Louis, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** 3636 S. Geyer Road, Suite 100, Sunset Hills, MO 63127, United States
- **Founded:** 2024
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** smartstepswealth.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/smart-steps-holdings

## About

Joseph F. Darpel, III founded Smart Steps Wealth Management in 2024 as a registered investment adviser, but the practice is older than its filing date. Darpel began working as an investment adviser representative at his father's firm in the early 1990s and spent more than 30 years there before launching his own shop. He operates from Sunset Hills, Missouri, and holds the CFP® designation. Smart Steps positions its service set across the household balance sheet: financial planning, investment advice, retirement planning, tax-aware portfolio construction, college savings plans, and estate planning. The firm has not disclosed its assets under management or total deployment. The Ramsey SmartVestor Pro designation shapes its approach — advisors receive training in 'the Ramsey way,' and clients working through Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps are asked to identify their step at intake. The firm lists six Missouri locations — Columbia, Joplin, Kansas City, Poplar Bluff, Springfield, and St. Joseph — in addition to its Sunset Hills headquarters. No team headcount or adjacent vehicles, such as a philanthropic entity, are disclosed. The firm has not made a verifiable operational announcement in the last 24 months. Structurally, Smart Steps is a single-advisor RIA anchored by one named principal. The Ramsey designation provides a defined client-acquisition channel distinct from the open-market competition most Missouri RIAs face, but the firm has not disclosed an internal succession plan or partnership structure.

## Offices

- Columbia, MO
- Joplin, MO
- Kansas City, MO
- Poplar Bluff, MO
- Springfield, MO
- St. Joseph, MO

## People

- Joseph F. Darpel, III — President & Founder, Financial Advisor

## Questions

### Who runs Smart Steps Wealth Management?

Joseph F. Darpel, III is President, Founder, and Financial Advisor. He holds the CFP® designation and began his advisory career in the early 1990s at his father's firm, where he worked for more than three decades before launching Smart Steps in 2024.

### What does the Ramsey SmartVestor Pro designation mean for how Smart Steps operates?

The designation means the firm has passed Ramsey Solutions' vetting process for financial advisors and received additional training in 'the Ramsey way.' Clients working through Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps sequence are explicitly integrated into the firm's intake, and the practice orients its advice around Ramsey's debt-reduction and savings-first philosophy.

### What services does Smart Steps offer?

The firm lists financial planning, investment advice, retirement planning, portfolio management, tax-aware investment strategies, college savings plans, and estate planning. It serves individuals, high-net-worth households, trusts, and corporations across its Missouri footprint.

### Where does Smart Steps maintain offices?

The firm's headquarters is in Sunset Hills, Missouri, with additional offices in Columbia, Joplin, Kansas City, Poplar Bluff, Springfield, and St. Joseph — seven locations total, all within Missouri.

### Is Smart Steps structured to continue beyond Joseph Darpel's tenure?

No succession plan or partnership structure has been publicly disclosed. The firm's current operating model centers on Darpel as the sole named principal and financial advisor.

## Related profiles

- [Smart Start Fund](https://altss.com/profile/smart-start-fund)
- [Smartworks Innovation](https://altss.com/profile/smartworks-innovation)

---

Last updated: 2026-07-08T22:28:37.288Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/smart-steps-wealth-management

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology