Hemenway & Barnes

Decision-making authority sits with the firm's 17 partners, who serve collectively as trustees, advisors, and counselors. There is no named CIO or single investment head — each partner advises families directly on legal structures and asset allocation, meaning the portfolio approach is dictated by individual client needs rather than a central investment committee.

It is a law firm by charter and a registered LLP in Massachusetts. Its client base — private families, owner-managed businesses, and nonprofits — receives services that overlap with those of a single-family office: estate planning, tax strategy, succession planning, and charitable-giving architecture. The difference is that all advice is delivered under attorney-client privilege, not a standard RIA fiduciary umbrella.

The firm does not disclose a unified investment platform. Given its fiduciary role as legal advisor and trustee, it likely directs client capital into individual securities, private operating-company holdings, and real assets on a per-family basis. No fund commitments, co-investment vehicles, or pooled investment structures are marketed publicly.

Hemenway & Barnes has not publicly attributed its client base to any single industry, family, or liquidity event. Its 160-year history in Boston suggests concentrated exposure to old-line industrial wealth, real estate, and privately held businesses that have transitioned across generations.

The firm publishes no documented sector exclusions. Its client-driven, non-discretionary advisory posture means any avoidance would originate from individual family mandates — such as restrictions on fossil fuels or controversial industries — rather than a top-down firm-wide policy.