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Mitchell Sinkler & Starr
Mitchell Sinkler & Starr was founded in 1969 by Robert Mitchell, Thomas Sinkler, and William Starr, establishing one of Philadelphia's early independent...
Mitchell Sinkler & Starr
Mitchell Sinkler & Starr was founded in 1969 by Robert Mitchell, Thomas Sinkler, and William Starr, establishing one of Philadelphia's early independent investment counsel partnerships. The firm grew by advising families, trustees, and non-profit endowments on preserving purchasing power through market cycles, structuring itself as a fiduciary long before that label became an industry standard. Its client base remains concentrated in the Philadelphia region, with multi-decade relationships spanning three or four generations of the same families. The firm constructs bespoke portfolios allocating across public equities, fixed income, private equity, real assets, and absolute-return strategies. Public-record statements indicate an investment philosophy rooted in global diversification, minimizing intermediation costs, and selecting third-party managers with demonstrated alignment and long track records. The firm typically accesses private markets through carefully vetted fund commitments rather than direct co-investments, reflecting its focus on consistent, risk-aware compounding rather than opportunistic deal-making. With an estimated $500 million to $2 billion in assets under advisement (Altss estimate), Mitchell Sinkler & Starr operates without additional offices or adjacent venture vehicles. The partnership model — where senior principals hold equity and client-facing advisors are also owners — distinguishes it from the roll-up RIAs and bank-trust affiliates that dominate the Philadelphia wealth corridor. The firm's succession has historically been internal, with a deliberate pace of partner elevation that maintains cultural continuity. Its genuine structural differentiator is not a proprietary fund or a co-investment club, but the absence of built-in conflicts: the firm does not manufacture investment products, does not charge transaction fees, and does not custody assets. This places it in a small cohort of older East Coast RIAs — such as Ballentine Partners or Fiduciary Trust International before its acquisition — that operate as pure fiduciary advisors with no asset-management P&L. For a family office allocator evaluating peers, Mitchell Sinkler & Starr represents an example of an enduring, conflict-free private-client franchise that has resisted the industry's consolidation logic.
General information
Firm type
Multi Family Office
Year founded
1969
AUM
$500M–$2Bn (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Philadelphia
Corporate office
Philadelphia, PA, United States
Frequently asked questions
Is Mitchell Sinkler & Starr structured as a single-family office or a multi-client advisor?
It operates as a multi-client registered investment advisor (RIA), not a single-family office. The firm serves multiple unrelated families, trusts, estates, and non-profit organizations — predominantly from its Philadelphia base. This structure distinguishes it from dedicated family offices like Cascade Investment or TFO Phoenix.
Does the firm manage assets in-house or select external managers?
Mitchell Sinkler & Starr functions primarily as a manager-selector and asset allocator rather than an in-house asset manager. The firm constructs client portfolios by evaluating and monitoring third-party investment managers across public equities, fixed income, private equity, and real assets. This avoids the conflict of interest present when an advisor also manufactures the investment products it recommends.
How does the firm source private market opportunities?
The firm accesses private equity and real assets through fund commitments to established third-party managers rather than pursuing direct co-investments or proprietary deal flow. This fund-of-funds approach fits its capital-preservation mandate and allows smaller, multi-generational client accounts to participate in private markets they could not access individually.
What is the firm's approach to intergenerational wealth transfer?
Mitchell Sinkler & Starr emphasizes multi-decade relationships, often serving three or four generations of the same Philadelphia families. The advisory model includes coordination with estate attorneys and tax professionals on trust structures, philanthropic planning, and governance education for rising-generation family members — reflecting the firm's original 1969 vision of serving as a family CFO rather than a transactional broker.
Does the firm maintain any affiliated vehicles or philanthropic entities?
Public records do not indicate that Mitchell Sinkler & Starr maintains affiliated investment vehicles, donor-advised fund platforms, or captive philanthropic structures. The firm advises clients who hold their own charitable foundations and trusts, but it operates without the vertical integration common among larger bank-trust or multi-family-office platforms.
Who makes investment decisions at Mitchell Sinkler & Starr?
Investment policy is set by the firm's partnership group, which historically has included senior advisors who are also equity owners. The partnership model aligns decision-makers' personal capital with client outcomes. Specific named principals are not widely published, consistent with the firm's low public profile and word-of-mouth growth pattern in the Philadelphia market.
How is the firm different from the trust department of a large bank?
Unlike a bank trust department, Mitchell Sinkler & Starr does not custody assets, does not earn revenue from lending or transaction fees, and does not distribute proprietary investment products. Its independence removes the structural incentive to steer clients toward in-house funds or balance-sheet products, which is the central differentiator between a pure fiduciary RIA and an institutionally affiliated trust company.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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