North Forty Two

North Forty Two

North Forty Two was established in Lake Oswego, Oregon, in 1998 by Will Ross, a Bates College graduate who cut his teeth at Eaton Vance Corp. before moving west. The firm's name nods to the 42nd parallel, the latitude connecting Cape Cod and Oregon, anchoring the two geographies that shape its principal relationships and client base. Portfolios are built across equities, fixed income, and alternatives, with the firm leaning on Charles Schwab & Co. for custody — a relationship that gives its clients access to Schwab's platform for trading and operational support. North Forty Two also contracts Back Office Connection, a Seattle-based operations firm, for middle- and back-office functions, freeing Ross and President Whitney Dow to concentrate on research and planning rather than administration. The client roster is concentrated among entrepreneurs and business leaders between 40 and 55, many of whom actively share expertise in adjacent disciplines like private equity, real estate, and philanthropy. Dow joined the firm seven years ago after senior client-facing roles at Russell Investments, Bandon Capital Management, and Logan Circle Partners (a Fortress Investment Group subsidiary). A satellite office in Bend, Oregon, extends the firm's footprint beyond its Lake Oswego headquarters. North Forty Two recently formalized its presence in Central Oregon, giving the principals direct access to a growing pocket of wealth migrating out of Portland. What sets the firm apart is its self-imposed client cap. By limiting service to roughly 100 households, North Forty Two operates like a boutique multi-family office rather than a traditional RIA scaling for asset accumulation. Governance rests on two principals with overlapping New England-to-Oregon trajectories, but succession planning and ownership structure remain undisclosed.