FAQs

We are a full-service wealth management firm that serves exceptional families and individuals seeking to activate the full potential of their wealth. To help turn lifelong ambitions and multigenerational aspirations into reality, LNW brings to each client relationship a high level of care combined with deep expertise in wealth and legacy planning, investments, and trust & estate services. A Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) and trust company, LNW is committed to providing clients with unbiased, independent guidance and solutions. LNW has offices in Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, as well as an affiliated trust company in South Dakota, empowering clients across the U.S. and around the world.

LNW is majority owned by Laird Norton Company, one of the longest-sustained family enterprises in the United States, as well as by employees.

We’re headquartered in San Francisco and Seattle, with offices in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia. But we have employees and clients all over the country and beyond.

We’re both. LNW is made up of two trust companies, one chartered in the state of Washington and one in the state of South Dakota, and two registered investment advisors (RIAs) which are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Across all our operations, we’re a fiduciary, required by law to act in your best interest.

We are 100% privately owned, by a combination of current and former employees and the Laird Norton Company.

LNW is built on the foundation of three successful wealth advisory practices, the oldest of which dated back to 1967. We came together as LNW in 2022.

We consist of two separately registered investment advisors, LNW Wealth Management, LLC and Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management, LLC.  Our ADVs, the forms used to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, can be found here: ADV Form Part 2A.

Our clients are wonderfully unique, but typically, they are successful individuals and families motivated to make the greatest impact with their wealth. We consider ourselves lucky in many cases to support multiple generations or branches of an extended family. We also work with some foundations and endowments. Whether used to empower their life, their family, the community or all of the above, we help our clients make intentional choices on how to steward and deploy their full balance sheet.

Our minimum for new clients is $10 million in assets. Our clients’ investable assets range from a few million to hundreds of millions. Our fees are based on assets under management, and we charge 0.75% on the first $10 million of net asset value. Our fee percentage decreases as the asset level increases. If the assets we manage for you are in a trust, we charge an additional smaller fee to cover administrative expenses.

We are a “fee-only” firm.  We’re known as an independent registered investment advisor, which means we earn a fee for the assets under management, not for the investments we recommend. This fee includes all our services – managing your investment portfolio, creating and updating your wealth plan, and advising you on trust and estate strategies. 

At any time, you can access the latest results for your portfolio and wealth plan via our secure online portal.

As often as you like. Our fee-based advisory services allow us to build relationships with you and your family, and we’re here to help you make smart decisions, be it financing a new house, finding the right long-term care insurance plan, or making the most of your stock options.

Multigenerational family wealth is in our roots. And for clients who may not require multi-generational planning, we can educate and inform your family members — especially the younger generations — on how to budget, invest and handle wealth responsibly. We can also propose wealth transfer strategies, taking into account the different personalities and needs within your family.

Yes, definitely. Although most of our team is based near one of our offices, we work with clients across the U.S. and abroad.

You probably will have already met and talked to some or all of the people who would be working on your team by the time you decide to come on board with us. Once you hire us, we’ll start with an official kickoff meeting. We’ll ask you a lot of questions and listen carefully before suggesting a plan that thoughtfully considers your goals and objectives. Our focus is on what you want the money to do for you, and not on the money itself, therefore your goals and values will drive our recommended changes to your existing portfolio and future investments.

We take a team approach to serving clients. Your dedicated, core team works closely with our in-house experts on investments, tax and financial planning, and trust services to apply our firm’s collective expertise to your assets and finances.

This varies depending on account type and assets within the account. On average, the transfer period is two to three weeks, though it may take longer due to circumstances outside of our control.

We focus on a combination of growth and protection when building portfolios. We want our clients’ portfolios to weather the storms and be able to capitalize on strong markets. To do that, we emphasize a long-term view of investing, with an intense research bias in considering market trends and selecting the right managers. The investment process section of our website has more detail.

Absolutely. For interested clients, our industry-leading impact investing is available as part of our holistic wealth management to help your wealth support your impact goals. Investing for impact is a personal choice, and we work closely with you to determine the level of impact you want to have and how to go about it. As a client, you’ll have access to impact investment options across asset classes and your team can help guide you and develop a personalized strategy that supports your impact objectives and financial goals.

Tax planning is key to achieving great results for our clients. We manage your investment portfolio to minimize income and capital gains taxes, propose tax-efficient ways to turn your investments and other assets into income, and advise you on trust and estate planning strategies for transferring wealth in a tax-efficient manner.

Yes. We can explore with you the pros and cons of setting up a trust. While we do not draft trust documents or wills, we can advise your attorney on which type of trust(s) will work best for your situation, based on our in-depth analysis of your assets, finances, needs and goals.

Yes. As a trust company since 1967, we have deep expertise serving as trustee to administer your trust (ensure your intent is carried out). And we can manage the assets within your trust so they last for the life of the trust and support the people and causes you name as beneficiaries. We can also serve as co-trustee with family members or others you designate.

We might be! Take a look at our careers page to see what openings we have.

We’re very selective about finding people whose values fit into our culture. What do we look for? Someone whose eyes light up when we talk about our passion for exceptional service. Someone with intelligence that acts with good judgment. Someone with a strong set of skills and strong opinions, who isn’t hesitant to voice them, but who recognizes the value of listening, collective decision-making, and respecting other’s opinions.