About

About

Our Philosophy.

What’s in a name? Everything.


The word “Gordian” means an exceedingly complicated problem that requires quick, decisive, and bold action. At Gordian, that’s what we do best. We’re focused on simplifying the complex investment and financial issues facing wealth creators.

We’re also focused on building a special partnership with you. We believe the bond between client and advisor is a unique kind of partnership. We believe it’s important for you to understand what we stand for and how we approach working with you.

The Gordian team simplifies the complexity in wealth management.

The Gordian team holds itself to the highest standard.

The Gordian team believes that wealth management is a personal partnership between advisor and wealth holder and requires ongoing dialogue in person.

The Gordian team discloses all fees and offers unconflicted advice that is always in your best interests.

The Gordian team develops investment strategies based on an outstanding research process that identifies the ideas that fit your specific and changing needs.

The Gordian team performs ongoing due diligence and research to ensure that you have access to top-performing investment managers across every asset class.

The Gordian team has open access to the entire universe of investment managers and develops solutions that include traditional and alternative assets.

The Gordian team provides the highest standards of comprehensive wealth management, including investment strategy, money manager research and due diligence, sophisticated risk management, asset allocation, tax-efficient solutions, wealth transfer and philanthropic strategies.

We use the Schwab Corporation as our main independent, third-party custodian to provide safekeeping of assets for Gordian clients.

INVESTMENT SOLUTIONS

The Gordian team offers access to a wide range of core and specialized money managers. We provide more options, so you have investment solutions that span the entire risk-reward continuum. We believe in building core portfolios that provide “all-weather” exposure to multiple asset classes in a liquid, tax efficient and cost effective manner. Every family is different, yet every family wants to protect what they have. Only through active communication and thoughtful portfolio modeling can we determine the most compelling asset mix for your family’s needs.



SOPHISTICATED AND CUSTOMIZED INVESTMENT CAPABILITIES

  • No two families are alike and no two portfolios are alike
  • Customized asset allocation to achieve your specific investment objectives
  • Extensive due diligence on all asset classes and structures - Mutual Funds, Separately Managed Accounts, ETFs and alternative investments
  • A focus on managers with outstanding after-tax returns
  • Expertise in managing portfolios with concentrated stock positions, typically with a low-cost basis


ASSET PROTECTION

  • Proper titling of assets
  • Trust structures
  • Insurance strategies

GENERATIONAL WEALTH TRANSFER

  • Wealth transfer strategies customized to individuals and family members
  • Philanthropic strategy and execution to perpetuate your legacy
  • Irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILIT)

SEAMLESS COORDINATION

  • Coordination with other trusted advisors, including attorneys and accountants


ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS 

It is often appropriate for high net worth families to include alternative investments as part of their portfolio strategy. To optimize a portfolio, a broader blend of traditional and alternative asset classes is frequently evaluated to examine impacts on expected returns.

Alternative investments cover a range of potential opportunities including private equity, real estate, venture capital, and private credit. Also included are precious metals, forestry, leasing, and various types of collectibles. 


These investments can add diversification to a traditional portfolio composed of cash, bonds, and equities.  Additionally, alternative investment may lessen correlation with traditional stock market volatility and add to expected risk adjusted returns over time. These types of exposures may act as buffers that help mitigate portfolio drawdowns without sacrificing returns.

There is great variety in the characteristics of these investments. Over time, they have evolved from investments with mostly long term, illiquid holding periods to shorter and more flexible options, which are useful for investors with a variety of liquidity needs. We can layer in these investments to fit the short, intermediate and longer-term liquidity requirements of each family.



Investors should receive commensurate returns for the combination of longer holding periods and the lack of liquidity which alternatives typically require. Use of them can be of benefit in the construction of a family’s portfolio.


Gordian sources alternative investments via our network of family offices, hedge funds, real estate managers, private equity firms, capital market relationships with selected investment banks.

MEET OUR TEAM


Elliott Elbaz

Founder

Michael Phippen

Chief Investment Officer

Cullen Jowitt

Executive Vice President

Scott Peters

Director of Fixed Income Alternatives

Erikah Henley

Director of Operations 

Kevin Wasserman

Vice President of Operations

FRequently Asked Questions.

Who should I choose for a financial advisor? Where should I place my hard earned cash?

Today, there are a large number of sophisticated choices for you to make when selecting your financial advisor. There are many types of firms where you can invest. Typically, most investors choose either 1) a traditional bank, 2) a national or regional wirehouse (a full service brokerage like Morgan Stanley, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, UBS, and Wells Fargo), 3) or a registered investment advisor (RIA).


In general, traditional banks offer less sophisticated investments to high net worth individuals. The wirehouses have a global product offering, but often times the brokers have limited autonomy to help their clients. In addition, wirehouses have additional fees and commissions and generate additional profits by selling their own bank-specific products to clients.


For us at Gordian, we believe the RIA structure is best for our boutique investment firm. We are a multifamily office that serves clients the way we know is best. We're lined up to do exactly what our clients want and customize services and investments to their personal needs.


What's an independent Registered Investment Advisor?

Independent Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) are professional independent advisory firms that provide personalized financial advice to their clients. They are registered with either the Securities and Exchange Commission or state securities regulators. Independent advisors are held to the fiduciary standard. They’re required to act in their clients’ best interest at all times.


Independent advisors are not tied to any particular family of funds or products.


Many independent advisory firms are owned by the individual advisors who run them, so they forge deep, personal relationships and have a strong sense of accountability to their clients.


Benefits to being independent:

  1. Customized financial guidance
  2. A personal, responsive relationship
  3. A simple, transparent fee structure
  4. Expertise to support complex financial needs
  5. Assets managed by an independent custodian


Where will my investments be held? Is it safe?

We use the Charles Schwab Corporation as a third-party custodian for your assets.

Schwab serves as custodian to 2.1 million client accounts and holds $708 billion in assets managed by other investment advisors. Our clients assets are held at Schwab, which is a separate entity (with a $38 billion market capitalization) that is removed from Gordian, and adds a natural system of checks and balances for security.

Schwab also offers a range of investment and banking products, business management, technology, and service support to Gordian. We implement top level security and implement a dual check process that requires you approval to Schwab and Gordian to withdraw funds or move money.


Why invest with Gordian?

Every investor has their own style and risk appetite but we'd like to meet you to see if there's a fit. We are a multi-family office that prides itself on personalized service and has access to "institutional-like" products to offer our families.

We are a true business owner that is focused on our clients. We needed to be independent to gain autonomy away from the big banks and their self-serving proprietary products to better decide which strategies and investments best fit our clients' needs.


How is Gordian paid?

We are paid on a strict percentage of your invested assets. We do not get paid on trading stocks or generating volume transactions. In addition, we invest heavily in our firm's platform and incur all the expenses to offer top-tiered technology and tools for our clients.


What's Gordian's investment strategy?

At Gordian, our clients receive unfiltered advice. We have no obligation to sell proprietary products. We are not driven by commission, and only choose the solutions we think are best for our clients.


At Gordian, we take a long-term, global perspective on investing. We spend a great deal of time researching and evaluating investments, interviewing investment managers, and monitoring macroeconomic trends. We typically like to invest in secular winners and avoid troubled segments in the market. We manage complex portfolios and address the unique circumstances of those who need a highly customized level of investment management strategy and consultation.


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