Parkside Advisors

Parkside Advisors

Parkside Advisors was founded in 1996 as an independent wealth manager serving individuals, families, trusts, and estates in the San Francisco Bay Area. The firm built its practice around the nuanced financial lives of technology employees, structuring advice around equity compensation — stock options, restricted stock units, employee stock purchase plans — alongside traditional retirement and tax planning. It operates from dual offices in San Francisco and Berkeley. The firm delivers an integrated service model spanning financial planning, investment management, and strategic tax planning. Its investment approach accommodates concentrated equity positions and incorporates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and socially responsible investing (SRI) mandates for clients who request them. Parkside structures portfolios for retirement income, charitable giving, inheritance transitions, and the specific liquidity events common to Bay Area careers. The firm's client base includes individuals, corporations, trusts, and estates. The advisor registered as a California-based RIA, but its disclosed team size and assets under management figures are not publicly available. The firm's strategy reflects a high-touch, planning-heavy model rather than an asset-gathering operation. Parkside Advisors joined NorthRock Partners, a larger wealth management platform, a move that broadens its access to markets and service capabilities while preserving its local presence. Parkside's structural differentiator lies in the depth of its equity-compensation specialization — not a general wealth practice with a tech tilt, but a firm built around the tax and planning mechanics of ISOs, NQs, RSUs, ESPPs, and 10b5-1 plans. This focus reflects the firm's origin and sustained client base in the Bay Area technology corridor, where equity packages often dwarf base salaries and planning complexity is the primary client need.