Not every advisor is built for every season of life.
Your financial life deserves a guide who’s on your side. See if we’re the right fit for you.
A guide who’s on your side.
In an industry full of conflicts of interest, our business model is built to minimize them. We don’t sell products and we don’t earn commissions. Our sole compensation is the fee you pay us.
Most advisors in the U.S. are “fee-based”, meaning they can earn commissions from the products they recommend. That creates competing incentives many clients never know exist. As you evaluate financial advisors, make sure you understand how they are compensated and whose interests they are required to put first.
At P&A, that answer is simple. As fee-only fiduciaries, we are legally obligated to act in your best interest, 100% of the time.
The cost of getting it wrong
Many clients don’t know the fees they are actually paying. Not because the information isn’t available, but because it isn’t presented clearly. Understanding your all-in costs is one of the most important steps in evaluating any advisor relationship. A few of the places this shows up:
Hidden product commissions
Many products (annuities, certain mutual funds, & insurance products) pay your advisor a commission at sale. This expense can be quite high for the investor.
Layered fees
Mutual fund expense ratios, wrap fees, custodial fees, and advisory fees can quietly stack on top of each other.
Advice aligned with your best interests
Suitability-standard advisors only need to recommend products that are “appropriate,” not products that are best for you. Fiduciaries are held to a higher standard.
Generic plans
A personalized financial plan requires understanding your tax picture, your estate, your charitable giving, and your goals. A plan works best if it’s truly built around you and your priorities.
Not understanding the impact of high fees, the difference between a suitability vs fiduciary standard, and having a generic plan versus a detailed one can have a detrimental impact over time.
How a transition to P&A actually works.
You won’t find a one-size-fits-all framework here.
You’ll find a process that starts where you are.
Step 1
Listen.
Before any recommendation, we listen. What you’ve built. What you want next. What’s already working. What’s keeping you up. The plan we build only works if it’s built around what matters to you.
Step 2
Clarify.
Financial planning has a lot of moving parts, and the order matters. We bring investment allocation, charitable giving, tax planning, and more into the conversation. That way you can see how all the pieces fit together before considering any recommendations.
Step 3
Plan.
Planning isn’t a one-time event. Tax rules change. Family situations evolve. Markets shift. Your investments and financial plan must, too. We review, adjust, and guide you through every market and every milestone.
We’ve helped many households make this change.
Many of the clients we serve today came to us from another firm. At some point, they realized the structure of their relationship just wasn’t built around them. Are you looking to:
Craft a sustainable investment and financial plan that’s built around your unique situation?
Better understand and manage your tax picture?
Give to charitable causes in a more tax-efficient way?
Seize opportunities, avoid mistakes, and uncover the blind spots in what you have today?
The team behind your plan.
You’ll work with named advisors, not a call center. Get to know the team on our Team page.
This ranking was issued by CNBC in October 2025 and covers the period October 2025 to October 2026. Pittenger & Anderson did not pay to obtain this rating; however, we have licensed the CNBC FA 100 logo for use in our own advertising materials.
More about P&A.
#5 on the 2025 CNBC FA 100. The only Nebraska firm to make the list all seven years it’s been published.
Fee-only, full-time fiduciary, since 1995. No commissions. No product sales. No kickbacks. Our advice is aligned with your goals, not a sales quota.
Approximately $3 billion in assets under management. 900+ client households in over 30 states.
Questions prospective clients often ask
What does “fee-only” mean?
Fee-only means we are paid only by the clients we serve. We don’t earn commissions from selling products, and we don’t earn kickbacks from custodians or fund companies. The model is simple by design: when the only person paying us is you, our advice has only one set of interests to serve. By contrast, most advisors in the U.S. are fee-based, meaning they can earn commissions alongside their management fee. This creates competing incentives many clients never know exist.
What does “fiduciary” mean, and how is it different from “suitability”?
A fiduciary is legally required to act in your best interest at all times. A “suitability” standard only requires that a recommendation be “appropriate” for you, not that it be the best option available. The difference sounds subtle, but it matters. A recommendation can be suitable without being optimal. As a full-time fiduciary, we are legally and ethically obligated to put your interests first in every recommendation we make, not just when it’s convenient.
What’s the typical Pittenger & Anderson client profile?
Most P&A clients have at least $1 million in investable assets when we begin working together. If you’re close to that mark, or about to receive a sum from a business sale or inheritance, we’re happy to have a conversation about whether we’re a fit for each other.
How do I know if my current advisor is the right fit?
A few honest questions help. Do you understand exactly how your advisor is paid, including any product-related commissions? Can your advisor explain the “why” behind their recommendations in plain language? When you ask a hard question, do you get a clear answer or a sales line? Does your current advisor offer ongoing and proactive planning around taxes, giving, Medicare, Social Security, and more? You don’t need certainty to start. A 15-minute call with us costs nothing and can provide a second opinion on what you have today.
What does the transition process look like?
After our initial conversation, we review your accounts, investments, fees, and your plan. If you decide to move forward, we coordinate the transfer with your current advisor and custodian, handle the paperwork, and move assets in a way that’s mindful of taxes. The process is straightforward.
What if I currently own expensive products like annuities or load funds?
We’ll help you understand what you have, what it’s costing you, and what your options are. Sometimes the right answer is to hold a product because surrender charges or tax consequences outweigh the cost of getting out. Sometimes the right answer is to unwind it carefully over time or to exchange it for a lower-cost alternative. We’ll show you the math, not push you to a conclusion.
What are your credentials?
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals are required to complete rigorous education, have relevant experience, and are committed to acting in their clients’ best interests. The following advisors at our firm are CFP® professionals: Blake Anderson, Dan Anderson, Dan Frost, Diane Klein, Audrey Mines, A.J. Natter, Trey Pittenger, and Jon Sevenker.
Shane Riley and Dan Frost are both Chartered Financial Analyst® charterholders, a designation widely recognized as one of the most respected in the investment management industry.
Elizabeth Sydzyik is a CRPC™ designee. Kristin Kliewer holds the IACCP® designation. Audrey Mines is a licensed Insurance Consultant who can help you analyze any insurance policies and annuities you own, even though we do not sell insurance products.
More resources
Thinking through a change? These articles cover the topics that come up most in our initial conversations.
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Start with a conversation.
Fifteen minutes. No presentation. No pressure. Just a call to see whether P&A is the right fit for the decision you’re facing.
