Managing high-net-worth (HNW) family wealth is a complicated process. These people face challenges in managing tax efficiency and estate planning, preserving generational wealth, and adapting to shifting regulations. As a result, the need for specialized, multidisciplinary financial advisory services has become greater than ever.
Selecting the right financial advisory firm is one of the most important decisions HNW families can make. These businesses provide personalized strategies for affluent families and their wealth management needs.
1. Anchin
Anchin is a leading advisory and accounting firm focusing on privately held businesses, investment funds, and affluent individuals and families. The New York City-based firm is a top choice for wealthy families because of its deep knowledge and expertise. It has over a century of experience in tax strategy, estate planning and business succession.
Patrons also benefit from its services due to its high-touch, partner-led service model. This approach offers personalized attention to ensure each family reaches its financial and risk profile goals.
Anchin has an excellent reputation for its transparency and regulatory workarounds. It has had consistent recognition as one of the “Best Accounting Firms to Work For,” which translates into strong talent retention and better continuity for clients. While onboarding, it focuses on thoroughly understanding each family’s financial goals, legacy priorities and risk profile, which allows it to craft personalized strategies and become a trusted long-term partner for its large client base.
2. Circle Wealth Management
Circle Wealth Management is a woman-founded advisory firm that takes a fiercely independent, people-first approach to serving affluent clients. It uses holistic wealth management strategies in financial planning, investment oversight and multigenerational education.
One of Circle Wealth’s key differentiating factors is its focus on customization — no cookie-cutter solutions exist. Instead, every relationship begins with an in-depth discovery process that uncovers various aspects of the customer’s financial situation.
Circle’s regulatory independence ensures its advice is always unbiased and aligned with the client’s interests. Combined with a low client-to-advisor ratio, this results in a highly personalized experience where advisors are trusted stewards for daily financial decisions and big-picture planning. If the goal is a human-centered, collaborative experience, Circle Wealth Management offers a depth of insight and attentiveness.
3. WE Family Offices
WE Family Offices operates with a singular mission — to empower high-net-worth families to think, act and invest like well-run businesses. As a true family office, the firm is a strategic advisor and advocate for clients with substantial, multigenerational wealth.
It uses a conflict-free business model and does not sell financial products or earn commissions, which ensures complete objectivity in the advice provided. This fiduciary structure allows the entity to align a family’s financial architecture with its long-term values and goals.
With deep experience in international wealth, WE Family Offices specializes in managing global holdings, cross-border planning and different tax structures. Its services range from governance consulting and investment oversight to risk management and succession planning.
Clients can expect a deeply personalized, consultative process. When they enter the onboarding process, they will experience a robust diagnostic phase that maps out their financial situation. From there, WE works closely with families to build long-range plans and internal capabilities, helping them take ownership of their wealth management journey.
4. Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth
With experience dating back to 1969, Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth (BRF) has become a trusted partner for high-net-worth families needing steady financial guidance. It offers a low-profile, high-integrity approach, deliberately operating under the radar while managing billions in client assets with care and discretion.
BRF’s expertise includes investment consulting, estate and tax strategy, family office services, and philanthropic advising. Its clients often make up multigenerational families. They benefit from the consistent, high-level access to senior advisors it offers, which allows those experts to build personal, long-term relationships even after their patrons reach their financial goals.
This enterprise especially appeals to affluent families due to its independent, fee-only structure. As a fiduciary, BRF offers advice fees free of product bias, ensuring every recommendation is made in the client’s best interest. This transparency means families will receive a thorough, methodical experience, which drives ongoing relationships between them and the firm.
5. Legacy Advisors
Legacy Advisors is a private, independent wealth management company that focuses exclusively on the needs of business owners, executives and HNW families. With a strong reputation throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, it offers strategic planning that helps customers with everything from business succession to intergenerational wealth transfer.
A defining feature of Legacy Advisors is how it plans. Its team works closely with families to build strategies that reflect their goals. Services span estate planning, insurance advisory, cash flow modeling and multigenerational education. It is a one-stop resource for long-term financial stewardship.
Clients enjoy the firm’s fee structure and collaborative process. Onboarding incorporates a discovery phase and strategic plan delivery before any implementations. This approach brings structure and heart to the table, creating a lasting impact for HNW families.
6. Wellspring Financial Advisors
Wellspring Financial Advisors is a small service with institutional-level expertise. It caters to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and multigenerational families. Although its headquarters are in Cleveland, Ohio, the firm serves clients nationwide. It operates as an independent, fee-only advisor, allowing conflict-free guidance across a family’s financial picture.
Wellspring integrates wealth planning and tax strategy under one roof. Its multidisciplinary team includes CPAs, CFPs and legal experts, enabling it to offer a cohesive approach that streamlines decision-making. Whether philanthropic planning or investment oversight, clients gain a seamless experience driven by long-term strategy.
The entity also strongly prioritizes client education and empowerment. During onboarding, it takes a one-phone-call approach to inform people of its value proposition and takes time to learn about their goals. Then, it follows up with a fully customized financial blueprint. This business model helps families take ownership of their financial future by taking the burden of day-to-day management.
7. Nicholas Hoffman and Co.
Nicholas Hoffman and Co. is a multifamily office that provides sophisticated wealth management services to HNW individuals and families. The office has a low client-to-advisor ratio, delivering highly customized solutions and long-term strategies.
Nicholas Hoffman and Co. specializes in investment consulting, integrated with tax, estate and philanthropic planning. Its team dedicates itself to different wealth approaches to help families launch financial strategies with long-term goals in mind.
The firm operates under a fee-only, fiduciary model, ensuring every recommendation is grounded solely in the client’s best interest. It also prioritizes understanding each family’s financial architecture and objectives. Nicholas Hoffman and Co. provides deep financial understanding and insight, and it is an excellent choice for those who value a highly personalized, advisory-driven relationship.
8. Sentry Advisors
Sentry Advisors is an independent, employee-owned registered investment advisor serving HNW families, corporations and charitable organizations. Its discreet and highly tailored services include financial planning, investment oversight, and audit advisory.
This firm offers a dual focus on investment advisory and regulatory support. In addition to traditional wealth management services, Sentry specializes in consulting on anti-money laundering compliance, Bank Secrecy Act and internal audit needs. Therefore, it makes a strategic partner for clients with complex regulatory obligations.
It operates without commissions or third-party revenue agreements. Instead, clients can choose between a fixed annual fee or a percentage of assets under management. Additional fees are also possible for custodial or transactional services.
Sentry Advisors starts with building trust and understanding. The company focuses on discovering its patrons’ specific goals and risk tolerance. It is a flexible advisory service for anyone needing a well-rounded experience.
9. Sierra Capital
Sierra Capital is a Miami-based investment advisory enterprise that provides client-centered financial guidance for HNW families. Focusing on long-term partnerships, it delivers highly customized portfolio management and strategic planning services that help clients preserve their wealth.
The firm bases its foundation on fiduciary responsibility. As a fee-only advisor, Sierra Capital avoids commission-based incentives and model portfolios, opting for fully personalized strategies instead. Its investment philosophy also encompasses discipline, diversification and capital preservation. These principles are essential to guiding portfolio construction and wealth planning decisions in a bias-free way.
Sierra Capital onboards its clients using a consultative, in-depth approach. Its team works to gain a deep understanding of its client’s financial structure so it can curate long-term strategies to meet their investment objectives. Their mission is to offer the best investment management to affluent clients, which they achieve by doing their due diligence and meeting client needs regardless of circumstance.
What Defines a High-Net-Worth Family?
A high-net-worth family is typically one with at least $1 million in liquid, investable assets. However, this threshold only scratches the surface of what truly characterizes today’s HNW households. Many hold diversified portfolios that span real estate, private equity, hedge funds and global business ventures. Some even fall into the categories of very high net worth or ultra-high net worth, each bringing additional financial sophistication.
HNW families include successful entrepreneurs, C-suite executives, second-generation wealth inheritors and multinational business owners. These families often need more than standard financial planning — they require sophisticated strategies that align with their income sources and long-term legacy goals.
This is because they run into numerous financial challenges. One often involves the tax implications of their wealth. For example, billionaires face tax rates nearing 60% when they earn income through international business operations. At that level, they need informed guidance to minimize risk and preserve wealth across generations.
Generational planning is another key concern. It is estimated that 70% of families experience a loss of wealth by the second generation, and this figure rises to 90% by the third.
That is why understanding what defines a high-net-worth family is key. Rather than categorizing wealth, advisors can identify the right strategies and provide the best guidance in building a lasting legacy.
Choosing the Right Financial Advisory Partner
High-net-worth families need the right advisory firm to ensure they can preserve and grow their generational wealth. Here are key considerations to keep in mind:
- Fiduciary standard matters: Look for an entity that acts in the customer’s best interest rather than earning commissions through product sales.
- Fee structure: Know how it charges for its services. Fixed fees, hourly rates, or AUM models have pros and cons depending on financial situations.
- Depth of services offered: Ensure the firm can support the full financial picture. This includes investment management, estate planning, tax strategy and family governance.
- Offered specialties: Specialized services mean the advisor can provide deep expertise in areas relevant to the client’s needs. Determine if they work in a specific area to gain highly customized services.
- Technology and reporting: Ask about the tools used for performance tracking and communication, especially if the goal is maintaining ongoing visibility and access.
- Cultural fit: Pay attention to the advisor’s integrity, communications style and ability to serve long-term.
Core Financial Advisory Services for HNW Families
HNW families benefit from the following services:
- Investment management: Effective portfolio construction and active management are essential for preserving capital and capturing long-term growth. HNW families often require custom asset allocations, access to private markets and direct investments to increase risk tolerance.
- Wealth preservation: Wealth safety is just as critical as growing it. Clients want to ensure their assets are secure in the long run. These strategies focus on managing downside risk and protecting against inflation and market volatility through disciplined planning and diversification.
- Estate and succession planning: Transferring wealth efficiently requires detailed estate planning and success strategies. This service guarantees that heirs can financially and emotionally manage inherited wealth while minimizing tax liabilities and legal complications.
- Tax planning: Cross-border income, trusts and complex asset holdings often trigger significant tax consequences. Tailored tax strategies reduce exposure while maintaining compliance with domestic and international regulations.
- Risk management: From concentrated stock positions to business ownership, HNW families face various risks. Risk management offers insurance planning, asset protection and contingency planning.
Finding the Right Fit for Long-Term Financial Success
Managing the finances of a high-net-worth family is complex. That is why finding the right partner in financial advisory is important. The right firm can work with clients to understand their needs and support their goals. With a good team, clients’ wealth is well taken care of, helping them build a legacy worth leaving for the next generation.
