Ferris Financial Services

Gerald J. Ford is a Texas-based investor who built his fortune consolidating and selling community and regional banks. His landmark transaction was the 2002 sale of Golden State Bancorp, then the nation's second-largest thrift, to Citigroup for $5.3 billion in cash and stock. Prior to Golden State, he had acquired and restructured multiple Texas and California financial institutions, beginning with First United Bank in the 1970s. That banking expertise now defines the Ferris Financial Services portfolio.

The firm favors concentrated positions in sectors Gerald Ford knows — primarily financial-services platforms, direct real estate, and private credit. Rather than broadly diversified fund commitments, Ferris participates in direct deals and SPVs, often co-investing alongside operators. Ford's long tenure as Chairman of Hilltop Holdings illustrates his preference for holding stakes in businesses where he can exert influence rather than passive fund positions.

While Ferris Financial Services is the private family office, Hilltop Holdings is a publicly traded financial holding company where Gerald J. Ford serves as Chairman and maintains a significant ownership stake. The two entities sit on a continuum — Ford's personal and family-office capital exists alongside his public-company governance role. This structure allows the family office to benefit from the operating infrastructure and market intelligence of a regulated banking platform while maintaining private deployment flexibility.

Ferris operates as a lean single-family office run by Gerald J. Ford, with investment decisions concentrated in the principal. The office has a presence in both Midland and Dallas, Texas, reflecting Ford's roots in West Texas and the broader state's financial ecosystem. Team size is not publicly disclosed, but the structure follows the operator-owner model rather than the institutionalized, multi-generational framework seen at East Coast or West Coast family offices.

There is no public evidence that Ferris Financial Services manages capital for outside investors or participates in the co-investment clubs and networks common among peer family offices. The firm appears to operate exclusively for the Gerald J. Ford family, consistent with the private, non-marketing posture of many energy-patch and West Texas family offices that prioritize discretion over visibility.