Columbus, OH Office

PDS Planning, Inc. is a fee-only registered investment adviser that provides financial planning and portfolio management to individuals (including high-net-worth clients), business entities, pension plans, and charitable organizations; the firm manages roughly $2.17 billion on behalf of about 600 clients. Services include customized financial planning reports, investment advisory/portfolio management, participant-directed retirement plan support, and limited standalone consulting engagements.

The firm typically develops an Investment Policy Statement, monitors portfolios on an ongoing basis, and allocates across ETFs, mutual funds, separately managed accounts, individual equities and fixed income, with the option to recommend independent managers. PDS treats cash as an asset class for defensive positioning, uses Schwab Institutional custody and reporting, and charges an annual fixed fee for ongoing planning and advisory services rather than the percentage-of-AUM fee model common among similarly sized peers.

Distinctive features in the brochure include an explicit firm policy on cryptocurrency (PDS will not exercise discretionary authority to purchase crypto and requires client authorization for such exposures) and an articulated AI governance framework that limits public AI use of nonpublic personal information and requires human review of AI outputs. The firm, founded in 1985, also notes specific planning capabilities such as executive compensation and closely held business succession work and offers tiered service levels (portfolio management, foundational planning, and comprehensive wealth management) that can be delivered via fixed-fee arrangements or limited engagements.