Eton Advisors boosts UHNW capabilities with family office veteran

Tamara Surratt, founder and CEO, Legacy Family Office.

The MFO is welcoming Tamara Surratt, the founder and CEO of Legacy Family Office, which has more than $2B in AUM.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based Eton Advisors has boosted its capacity to serve well-heeled clients as it welcomes a new family office, along with a seasoned veteran of the space.

On Tuesday, the boutique multi-family office that operates within the Focus Financial Network, announced the addition of Tamara Surratt, founder and CEO of Legacy Family Office, to its leadership team.

“We are thrilled to welcome Tamara Surratt and Legacy Family Office to the Eton family,” Brian Hughes, president of Eton Advisors, said in a statement.

“I’ve known Tamara for nearly 20 years, and have always admired her professionalism and her unwavering commitment to client service,” Hughes said, noting how “her values align seamlessly with ours at Eton.”

Legacy Family Office, which currently has over $2 billion in assets under management according to a spokesperson, specializes in providing customized family office services and goals-based investment advice to ultra-high-net-worth families.

Surratt joins Eton as a senior wealth manager, bringing significant expertise to the firm. Built over the course of 17 years in the industry, her extensive background that includes estate and tax planning, family governance, heir development and education, and philanthropic initiatives.

Preparing and educating heirs is an area of heavy focus for ultra-high-net-worth families, according to a new report from Deloitte, which found 41 percent of that affluent cohort don’t have a succession plan ironed out for its leadership. A concerning 30 percent say they’re not confident their successors are ready to carry the torch, while 28 percent say the next generation is not qualified to take over.

The firm aims to enhance its offerings and expand its capacity to meet the growing demand for personalized, high-level financial services among its clientele of UHNW families and foundations.

“Tamara’s deep family office knowledge and decades of experience working with ultra-high net worth families are invaluable additions to our team,” Hughes added.

Surratt’s arrival follows Hughes’ own recent appointment as president of Eton Advisors in May.