First Foundation Advisors is a large advisory firm based in Irvine. It manages $3.93 billion of regulatory assets for 3,433 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2010 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, and 24 other states.
First Foundation Advisors provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for investment companies, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, and selection of other advisers. It prepares financial plans for more than 10 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.
The assets under management (AUM) of First Foundation Advisors is $3.93 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 262% since the beginning of its operation, and $5.36 million of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.
The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay First Foundation Advisors for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, fixed fees, and performance-based fees. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.
The firm provides services to individuals, investment companies, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, pooled investment vehicles, banking or thrift institutions, and corporations or other businesses. The largest group of clients of Ulrich Emanuel Keller is high net worth individuals with 645 clients and $2.31 billion of assets under management. Among the 11 most similar advisory firms, First Foundation Advisors has the 3rd highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.
The amount of regulatory assets under management is $3.93 billion for 1,354 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. None of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.
First Foundation Advisors also advises several private funds. Namely, one venture capital fund. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons is $250,000 for each fund.
The company employs 66 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 58 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 30 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.
There are 2 people with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm compensates employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.
Ulrich Emanuel Keller has been acting as President since 1 Dec 2002. John Matthias Michel joined the executive team most recently as the Chief Financial Officer.
The principal office where First Foundation Advisors performs its advisory services is located at 18101 Von Karman Ave, Irvine, CA 92612 1051, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in Las Vegas, NV. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.
You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 949-476-0300. The normal business hours are 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at ff-inc.com/ and its LinkedIn profile.