For veteran wealth advisor Paul Tramontano, joining Cresset wasn’t simply about finding a new firm; it was about finding the right long-term home for his team and the families they serve. When evaluating the broad landscape of wealth management firms, they were intent on finding not only the flexibility and spirit of innovation that comes with the independent space, but also the scale, breadth and depth of capabilities, and entrepreneurial culture needed to better serve increasingly sophisticated client needs. Even with the thousands of wealth management firms out there, it felt a bit like finding the “needle in the haystack.”
In the following conversation, Paul delves into the reasons he and his team made the move, what has surprised him most about Cresset, and how a true multi-family office platform can create meaningful, lasting advantages for clients.
Paul, when you began evaluating firms, what specifically were you looking for?
We looked long and hard before making our decision. That said, there were two things that were absolutely essential:
The first was independence. That was non-negotiable for us because we’d built an independent business before joining First Republic Bank, and we knew the value that independence creates for clients.
The second was scale. We wanted the capabilities of a large organization without sacrificing independent advice. There are very few independent firms that combine those two qualities.
Beyond the business model, what made Cresset the right cultural fit?
Culture was incredibly important to us, perhaps the most important thing. I’ve always believed that if you want people to think and act like owners, they need to actually be owners. One of the first things that resonated with us at Cresset was its employee ownership model. Cresset is majority owned by clients and employees, and that naturally creates a culture of alignment and accountability.
I’ve also always believed in building a firm that lasts. Years ago, when my partner Sam and I started our business, we often talked about recreating the old Wall Street partnership model — private firms where professionals were deeply invested in one another’s success and clients always came first.
That’s what we’re building at Cresset. If you can create a great private partnership that benefits employees, those benefits ultimately flow directly to clients.
Since joining Cresset, what capabilities have had the biggest impact for your clients?
One of the biggest benefits has been gaining access to a true multi-family office platform. It seems most firms today call themselves a “family office,” but very few actually deliver on that promise. Cresset delivers.
At Cresset, we are able to provide robust family office services, tax planning, philanthropic planning, estate planning, and other specialized capabilities, all under one roof with deep integration. Having them integrated makes for a better client experience and allows us to solve more complex problems more efficiently.
One area where we believe we have a meaningful advantage is alternative investments. Large financial institutions are often focused on gathering assets for the industry’s biggest managers. Our approach is different. We spend our time identifying exceptional emerging managers and differentiated investment opportunities that sophisticated clients may not otherwise have access to. That’s where we believe we can create real value.
Why do you believe independent firms like Cresset are increasingly well-positioned to succeed in the long run?
The trend is clear: this industry continues moving toward independence, particularly for advisors serving high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth families. There is no going back.
Successful families need far more than investment management. They need sophisticated planning, access to differentiated investment opportunities, and advisors who aren’t constrained by a large institution’s product platform. And they need deep, holistic family office services.
When you combine independence with the scale to deliver those services at a high level, you create a significant competitive advantage. I believe that’s exactly where the industry is headed.
One concern some clients have when their advisor leaves a big bank is access to banking services. How has that transition gone?
That was something we thought carefully about before making the move. The reality is our clients haven’t missed a beat.
We’ve built strong banking and lending relationships that allow clients to access mortgages, private banking, and borrowing solutions while benefiting from independent advice. In many ways, clients now have an advantage because we’re no longer limited to the offerings of a single institution. In other words, we can evaluate solutions across the marketplace to find the best fit.
Looking ahead, what excites you about the future?
What excites me most is the opportunity to continue building something that endures.
That means developing the next generation of advisors, expanding the capabilities available to our clients, and continuing to build a firm designed to thrive for decades.
At the end of the day, the most rewarding part of this business has always been helping clients solve meaningful problems. Cresset gives us more ways to do that than ever before, and that’s ultimately why we chose this platform.