First Foundation Advisors

First Foundation Advisors was established in 1985 as part of First Foundation Inc., a financial services holding company that includes First Foundation Bank.

First Foundation Advisors

First Foundation Advisors was established in 1985 as part of First Foundation Inc., a financial services holding company that includes First Foundation Bank. The firm provides investment advisory and wealth planning services alongside the bank's deposit, lending, and trust offerings — an integrated model designed to retain client assets across the balance sheet and advisory platforms. The wealth origin is corporate; the firm does not represent a single-family pool but rather serves a broad client base of individuals, families, and institutions. The firm's investment approach spans public equities, fixed income, and alternative investments, with a particular emphasis on internally managed bond portfolios that leverage the bank's credit culture. First Foundation Advisors constructs asset allocations using a mix of proprietary strategies and externally sourced funds, providing both discretionary and non-discretionary mandates. Geographic focus centers on California and other Western US markets where First Foundation Bank maintains a physical presence. The firm has not publicly disclosed specific portfolio companies or direct co-investments. First Foundation Advisors operates as a registered investment adviser (RIA) under the publicly traded parent company First Foundation Inc. (NYSE: FFWM). The parent firm reported approximately $13 billion in total assets as of late 2023, though the advisory unit's specific assets under management are not separately broken out in public filings. The structure links retail banking, commercial lending, trust services, and wealth management — a configuration more typical of regional banks than standalone RIAs. First Foundation Inc. underwent a significant capital raise in mid-2024, securing $228 million from institutional investors including Fortress Investment Group, Canyon Partners, and Strategic Value Bank Partners to strengthen the bank's balance sheet following commercial real estate stress (per Reuters, July 2024). This recapitalization directly affects the advisory unit's stability and its ability to attract and retain wealth management clients who monitor the parent bank's financial health.

Website

firstfoundationinc.com

linkedin.com/company/first-foundation-inc

General information

Firm type

Bank / Wealth / Trust

Year founded

1985

AUM

Undisclosed

Location

Region

North America

Country

United States

City

Irvine

Corporate office

Irvine, CA, United States

Who runs investment decisions at First Foundation Advisors?

First Foundation Advisors operates under the leadership of the parent company's executive team, which as of 2024 includes CEO Scott Kavanaugh and President Christopher Naghibi. The firm does not separately name a chief investment officer in its public disclosures, suggesting investment policy is set at the holding-company level across the bank and advisory units.

How are advisory assets separated from the bank's balance sheet?

First Foundation Advisors operates as a registered investment adviser, meaning client portfolios are held in custody separate from bank assets and are not subject to creditor claims against the bank. The parent company's July 2024 capital raise addressed the bank's commercial-real-estate loan book; advisory client assets were not directly impacted by those credit losses beyond reputational considerations.

Does First Foundation Advisors manage proprietary fixed-income strategies?

Yes. The firm draws on First Foundation Bank's internal credit and underwriting capabilities to construct in-house fixed-income portfolios, primarily composed of high-quality municipal and corporate bonds. This is a structural differentiator — most independent RIAs outsource all fixed-income management to third-party managers rather than building their own bond capability alongside a bank credit team.

What is First Foundation Inc.'s ownership structure?

First Foundation Inc. is a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker FFWM. It is not privately held or family-controlled. Institutional shareholders include the recapitalization investors — Fortress Investment Group, Canyon Partners, and Strategic Value Bank Partners — who received significant equity stakes in the July 2024 capital raise.

What investment stages or sectors does the firm explicitly avoid?

First Foundation Advisors does not publish a formal exclusion list. However, based on the parent bank's commercial-real-estate exposure and the 2024 capital raise, the advisory unit's recent emphasis has been on preserving client confidence in liquid, transparent portfolios rather than expanding into illiquid private-market allocations that might draw scrutiny alongside the bank's own illiquid loan positions.

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