Firm’s new leader has his sights set on new frontiers

Rolling out of the recession, Aspiriant LLC’s newly chosen leader has set his sights on eastward expansion, turning the steering wheel away from sunny California and toward the Midwest.

“I think there’s a high likelihood we’ll be a larger organization next year, with more resources and clients,” said Rob Francais, its chief executive. In November, he picked up the reins from Tim Kochis, who is heralded as a pioneer of the investment advisory firm model.

“We’re in discussions with a firm, and we anticipate we’ll soon be in a major city in the Midwest,” Mr. Francais added. He would not specify the name of the firm that Aspiriant is courting, nor would he reveal its exact location.

Aspiriant was formed just prior to the market decline in January 2008, the result of a merger between Kochis Fitz Tracy Fitzhugh & Gott Inc. and Quintile Wealth Management. The economic tumult that followed hastened the firms’ philosophical alignment, Mr. Francais said.

“What was great about the merger wasn’t how similar we were but the areas where we were different,” he added. Quintile, which Mr. Francais co-founded in 2002, concentrated on families with at least $50 million, as well as their complex estates and charitable foundations. Meanwhile, Kochis Fitz had more of a financial planning theme, working with corporate executives. The average client was worth $8 million.

The combination gave Mr. Kochis’ clients access to a multifamily office when their assets grew, and it allowed Mr. Francais’ firm to serve smaller clients. “[Quintile] didn’t have an offering for those with $5 million to $8 million in liquid assets; we were bringing a nuclear bomb to a rubber band fight,” he said.

The firms created an integrated investment portfolio that had elements of Kochis Fitz and Quintile. “It just happens that more clients in L.A. had large allocations toward fixed income, and for smaller clients, some risk is a necessity,” he added.

Though Aspiriant, which manages $3.13 billion in discretionary assets, has an arsenal of services to provide its clients, along with its integrated investment approach, it still learned lessons emerging from the crisis, Mr. Francais added.

The firm held client focus groups to discover what its investors learned about themselves during the crisis, as well as whether Aspiriant was responsive to their needs.

What did it need to work on? “We were told we were responsive, but when the portfolios were having huge down days, just calling to ask how you’re doing would’ve been a huge benefit,” Mr. Francais said. “Not that it didn’t happen, but it wasn’t a program we had instituted. Even if you don’t have the answer, reach out — chatting about the emotional aspect of wealth management is good.”

Related Topics: ING Group, Wealth Management