Colony Group

Michael Nathanson serves as Chairman and CEO, and the firm operates a centralized investment committee that oversees asset allocation, manager selection, and portfolio construction. The committee draws on in-house portfolio managers, CPAs, and attorneys to integrate tax strategy directly into investment decisions. Day-to-day portfolio management is executed by dedicated wealth advisors assigned to each client family.

Colony accesses private equity, private credit, and real estate through a combination of fund commitments to established general partners, direct co-investment opportunities sourced through its manager relationships, and client-driven direct real estate acquisitions. The firm does not raise third-party funds and instead structures private-market exposure within individual client portfolios. Its scale and reputation as a top-25 RIA provide access to oversubscribed fundraises that smaller offices cannot typically access.

Colony operates as a multi-family office and registered investment advisor serving over 200 ultra-high-net-worth families, corporate executives, and institutions. The firm is not tied to any single source of wealth and has grown through organic referrals and acquisitions of smaller RIA teams. It remains privately held by its partners and employees, with no outside private-equity ownership.

The firm uses both. Colony commits client capital to private equity, venture capital, and private credit funds managed by external general partners, and also participates in direct co-investments alongside those managers. Direct real estate holdings are additionally structured on a deal-by-deal basis for clients who prefer physical property exposure.

Colony has increasingly emphasized direct co-investment opportunities as a way to reduce fee drag and enhance client alignment. The firm's size allows it to negotiate co-investment rights with fund managers that smaller RIAs cannot secure. Co-investments are offered on a non-discretionary basis, with each client opting into specific deals after individual review.

The firm was founded by Michael Nathanson, a CPA, and has purposefully maintained in-house tax and legal professionals alongside portfolio managers since inception. This structure enables real-time tax-loss harvesting, estate-planning coordination, and entity structuring without external counsel delays. It is a core differentiator from most large RIAs that outsource these functions to third-party accounting firms.

Yes, Colony operates a dedicated philanthropic advisory division that guides families on charitable giving strategies, donor-advised funds, and private foundation administration. This service line is integrated with the firm's tax and estate planning capabilities, allowing clients to coordinate charitable intent with multi-generational wealth transfer.