Avion Wealth

CEO Zac Larson and Chairman Joseph Lonsdale lead the firm's investment strategy, supported by a team of approximately 20 professionals. Lonsdale's concurrent role as a general partner at 8VC — a venture firm with over $6 billion in commitments — provides a pipeline of private-market opportunities that influence portfolio construction. Day-to-day allocation and planning decisions are executed by Larson and the advisory team from the firm's Texas offices.

Avion sources clients almost entirely from the aerospace and defense sector. The firm targets engineers, executives, and early employees at government contractors, space startups, and defense technology companies — professionals whose compensation often includes concentrated equity and who face security-clearance disclosure requirements. This vertical focus differentiates Avion from generalist RIAs that serve a broader cross-section of high-net-worth individuals.

Avion Wealth is structured as a registered investment advisor, not a family office. However, its product set and investment access resemble a family-office platform more than a conventional RIA, largely due to Joseph Lonsdale's venture ecosystem adjacency. The firm operates as a fiduciary, charging advisory fees rather than performance-based compensation, and serves multiple unrelated clients.

Avion can provide access to private-market investments, including venture funds and direct co-investment opportunities, through Joseph Lonsdale's affiliation with 8VC and the broader technology investment network. The firm's planning model is designed to accommodate the illiquidity and concentration risk that come with holding private company equity and employer stock in the aerospace and defense sector.

Joseph Lonsdale serves as Chairman of Avion Wealth while also being a co-founder and general partner at 8VC, a venture capital firm with over $6 billion in commitments. This dual role creates an informal pipeline of investment products and deal access for Avion clients, but Avion operates as a legally separate entity. 8VC's portfolio companies — including Anduril Industries and Palantir — also represent the type of employer that creates Avion's target client base.

Avion covers public equities, fixed income, direct indexing, and private investments. The firm's account minimums and service model are aligned with clients holding $1 million to $50 million in investable assets. Its planning work is built around equity compensation events — pre-IPO planning, post-exit liquidity management, and tax-optimized diversification of concentrated positions in aerospace and defense company stock.

Client capital is primarily generated from equity compensation in the aerospace and defense sector — stock options, restricted stock units, and employee stock purchase plans at companies ranging from large government contractors to venture-backed space startups. The firm's Texas-based client base reflects the state's concentration of defense contractors and the growing commercial space industry anchored in the Houston and Austin metropolitan areas.