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Benefits of Working with a Multi-Family Office
One advisor’s journey to a place that puts people and purpose first.
If you’re an advisor or firm owner, this note is for you. I’ve been where you are. Navigating career moves, evaluating firm cultures, wondering what truly matters most. I want to share my journey to Aspiriant—an independent, 100% employee owned registered investment advisor (RIA) that’s stayed true to its values—not to talk about myself, but to offer a glimpse into how we do things differently and who we hope to build with next.
And if you’re a client or future client reading this, I hope it gives you confidence, too. Because we take great care in choosing the people who help guide your financial future.
Over the years, I’ve come to believe that who we work with, and why, matters just as much as what we do. My path to Aspiriant reflects that belief and it’s part of the larger story that we have been writing as a firm since our founding. It’s not just about where I landed in my financial advisor career journey. It’s about how we are executing on our blueprint and who can be the next set of professionals to help design Aspiriant’s future.
Independence isn’t just a structure. It’s a shared mindset
My first interaction with Aspiriant was in 2016, when I visited the San Francisco office for an informational interview with two partners who shared more than 50 years of combined experience at the firm. There weren’t any job openings at that time, just an open conversation with a pair of advisors who clearly loved what they were doing.
Our dialogue about the organization and its approach to client service left a lasting impression, one that was reinforced in the years that followed as I got to know other employees on numerous occasions. So when the right opportunity came along to join the firm, it didn’t feel like a leap. It felt like a homecoming.
What struck me most was how uniquely the formal interview process took shape. With more than 20 years of experience in wealth management, I’ve been through my share of interviews. But Aspiriant’s approach stood out. In five rounds of official discussions, there were no generic multiple-choice assessments, no checkbox screenings and hardly any knowledge-based questions. Just real conversations with people who wanted to know who I was, how I serve and what I value. (Of course, my technical capabilities were still part of the process, they were just assessed thoughtfully and at the right time.)
In short, they weren’t just evaluating whether I could do the job, they were focused on whether we’d be a good fit for each other. In a word, they were searching for authenticity. So was I.
Why my story matters to our future & maybe yours
Since moving to the Bay Area in 2014, I’ve joined three firms that appeared dedicated to remain independent. In practice, the first two of them sold to private equity firms within a year of my arrival.
The impact of these ownership shifts was immediate and so was the change in culture. Efficiency replaced empathy. Decisions started drifting away from clients and toward corporate priorities.
I realized something important: ownership structure isn’t just a business model. It directly impacts the experience of clients and employees alike.
At Aspiriant, I witnessed something refreshingly different. In my first year here, instead of entertaining offers from buyers, our leadership team hosted a summit with 20 other advisory firms from around the world. All of them 100% employee-owned.
The goal? To share ideas and stand stronger united as truly independent firms. It wasn’t about getting bigger for the sake of it. It was about getting better, together.
It was a wildly successful initiative, giving us space to exchange best practices and strategize about how to thrive independently in a consolidating industry.
That’s what I want to be part of—a firm that’s built to last, that puts people before profits and that makes decisions aligned to benefit the families we serve, not to earn more from them.
A firm’s values and ownership structure matter. This is a stance so crucial to me that I’ve left multiple companies — and relocated my family—to live out this belief.
At Aspiriant, the decision-makers aren’t faceless suits in a faraway tower focused on profit targets or fund returns. They’re the same people sitting across the table from our clients, engaged in real, human conversations about their life goals. Our culture recognizes how essential that is — and we’re unrelenting in preserving it.
By no means is this a message we try to keep secret. On the contrary. Our CEO, Rob Francais, has shared the importance of keeping clients and employees at the center of every decision—themes he’s shared in Barron’s, Citywire and ThinkAdvisor. And the summit I mentioned earlier? You can see how it brought together like-minded leaders in this LinkedIn post.
What you see really is what you get
From the outside, Aspiriant always appeared thoughtful, grounded and human. Now that I’m on the inside, I can say without hesitation that it’s all true.
There’s an extraordinary level of generosity here. Mentorship isn’t formalized; it’s natural. Collaboration isn’t forced; it’s simply how things work. When someone has a question, a dozen hands go up to help. When a client has a challenge, the whole team jumps into action.
A few moments that meant a lot during my first year:
- Walking alongside five families as they prepared for retirement—helping them navigate the uncertainty with compassion and clarity and showing they could move forward with confidence.
- Having honest conversations with a couple whose lifestyle wasn’t economically sustainable—then gently building a new plan together that felt achievable and empowering.
- Bringing together 10 colleagues from across the firm to support a family whose outside bank account had been compromised. Even though the issue originated outside of our firm, we stepped in because it was simply the right thing to do.
- Making a client whole after a delayed trade impacted their return — with no hesitation, just a shared commitment to doing what’s right.
You might think, “Isn’t this what every firm should do?” And we’d agree. But as I’ve seen, that’s not always the case. These are the kinds of moments that build trust and reflect the character of a firm.
At Aspiriant, doing the right thing
isn’t an exception. It’s the standard.
isn’t an exception. It’s the standard.
It feels like one team because it truly is
Aspiriant may have employees across multiple offices, but it feels like one team with one heartbeat all working toward a shared mission to serve families and individuals with care and conviction.
The consistency across teams, the generosity of knowledge-sharing and the natural sense of collaboration all point to a truly collaborative firm culture. No silos. No sharp edges. Just people committed to doing what’s right, together.
And that’s rare. In a world where mergers often stitch together disconnected pieces, Aspiriant was methodically and intentionally constructed for one single purpose: to serve individuals and families with care and conviction.
Over my 25-year career, I’ve learned that where you work says a lot about what you believe. And when that alignment is missing, it takes a toll. On your energy, your integrity, your life outside of work and your ability to serve well. But at Aspiriant, I now feel that alignment. Our values show up not just on the website, but in every meeting, every strategy session, every client conversation.
For me, this isn’t just a job. It’s a mission. It’s a place I’m proud to grow with and grow within.
And if you’ve been building a financial planning career and are looking for that kind of place too, one that’s fiercely independent, wholly collaborative and future-focused, I hope you’ll come talk with us.
