Stuart Coats
MBA, CFP®
Coats Financial Planning
Founder, President and Senior Financial Planner
Stuart Coats
MBA, CFP®
Coats Financial Planning
Founder, President and Senior Financial Planner
As a fee-only financial planner, my focus is to offer unbiased financial advice to help you achieve your life goals. - Stuart Coats, MBA, CFP®
Fee Only Financial Planner Located in Louisville, KY and Serving Clients Nationwide

Stuart Coats is a Louisville, KY fee-only financial advisor serving clients locally and across the country. Coats Financial Planning provides retirement planning, tax planning, and investment management to help professionals, pre-retirees and retirees organize, grow and protect their assets through life’s transitions. As a fee-only, fiduciary, and independent financial advisor, Stuart Coats is never paid a commission of any kind, and has a legal obligation to provide unbiased and trustworthy financial advice.
Stuart Coats is the founder and President of Coats Financial Planning, Inc. As a CFP® professional and NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor, Stuart is proud to provide financial advice to clients located in the Louisville area and all around the country.
Stuart spent a decade in key finance roles at two of the world’s most respected companies, General Electric Co. and Ford Motor Co., before following his true calling as a personal financial planner.
In addition to 30 years of extensive experience as a finance professional, Stuart has two finance degrees – an MBA from Indiana University and a BBA from the University of Kentucky.
Stuart is a CFP® professional and a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor, having undergone a peer review of his financial planning work and accepted the strict code of ethics and fiduciary oath required by the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), a nationally-acclaimed organization devoted to providing comprehensive Fee-Only financial planning with the highest level of ethical standards.
A native of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Stuart resides in Louisville with his wife, Anna and daughter, Georgia.
Stuart Coats is a Member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors - highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.
NAPFA members live by three important values:
- To be the beacon for independent, objective financial advice for individuals and families.
- To be the champion of financial services delivered in the public interest.
- To be the standard bearer for the emerging profession of financial planning.
Coats Financial Planning, Inc. is a pioneering firm in Louisville, offering financial planning and investment advice on a Fee-Only basis for over two decades. Today we serve clients in Kentucky, Indiana, Florida and a dozen other states and we offer a staff of five dedicated and qualified financial advisors, all of whom are CFP® professionals. We provide an independent, objective review of your financial situation, and seek a long-term ongoing relationship to help you meet your financial goals. Our client relationships are deep and are conducted exclusively on an ongoing retainer basis.
We think our firm is unique and here are several of the primary reasons to partner with us:
- We put the interests of the client first in everything we do 100% of the time. No exceptions. Make sure any advisor you hire will put that pledge in writing (other than NAPFA firms, few will).
- We are financial planners first. For instance, we emphasize tax planning as a way we can add significant value for a client at most any stage in life. We bring solid knowledge and application of the tax code and an understanding of how the client tax situation is likely to change over time. We use this insight to help the client keep a higher percentage of their retirement assets over time rather than pay it out in taxes.
- For those approaching retirement or already there, we offer rare expertise at crafting a retirement strategy that pulls all your retirement resources into a cohesive plan that is tax-efficient, sustainable and optimal for what is likely a multi-decade retirement period.
- On the investment side, we focus on low cost, tax-efficient and highly transparent investments and we maintain a long-term focus without the folly of trying to time the markets.
We hope you will visit our website to learn more about our firm.
Fee-Only, Fiduciary, Independent: Three Important Criteria to Consider When Choosing a Financial Advisor.
Specialties
- Comprehensive Financial Planning
- Retirement Income Planning
- Investment Management
- College Education Planning
- Tax Planning
Ideal Clients
- Retirees and Near Retirees
- Growing Families
- Business Owners and Executives
- Sudden Money Situations
- Novice Investors
Working Together
- In-Office Meetings
- Virtual Meetings
- Clearly Defined Fees
- No Product Sales
- Complimentary Initial Consultation
Professional Designations & Affiliations
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Stuart Coats is a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor
The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors—highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.
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Stuart Coats is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional - Click for Verification
CFP® professionals are held to strict ethical standards to ensure financial planning recommendations are in your best interest. What’s more, a CFP® professional must acquire several years of experience related to delivering financial planning services to clients and pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Exam before they can use the CFP® designation.
Contact Stuart Coats
Office Locations:
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139 S. English Station Road
Suite 230
Louisville, KY 40245