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Plante Moran
Plante Moran manages an estimated $23.2B in wealth assets from Southfield, Michigan. Jason Drake leads as managing partner as of July 2024.
Plante Moran
Plante Moran Financial Advisors launched in 1977 as the wealth management arm of the accounting firm Elorion Plante founded in 1924 and Frank Moran joined as a partner in 1950. Headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, the practice evolved from a regional CPA firm's ancillary service into a full-scale family office advising individuals, high-net-worth families, and select institutions — a trajectory mirroring the broader accounting-to-wealth convergence reshaping the US advisory landscape. The group deploys client capital across a deliberately broad strategy set — buyout, distressed debt, venture capital from seed through late-stage, fund of funds, and special situations — with additional exposure to real assets and private credit through in-house affiliates PMCF Investment Banking and Realpoint. The firm's own taxonomy signals active coverage of financial services, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, real estate, and consumer products. Plante Moran is a founding member of Praxity, an international association of independent accounting firms, which extends the group's sourcing and diligence reach across multiple geographies without requiring owned foreign offices. Altss estimates the wealth management division advises on roughly $23.2 billion in assets, anchoring one of the largest CPA-linked family-office platforms in the United States. The firm maintains a growing physical footprint, with a Chicago office supplementing the Southfield headquarters at 3000 Town Center. Philanthropic planning is supported by dedicated structures including the Moran Family Foundation and Plante Moran Cares. Jason Drake assumed the firm managing partner role in July 2024, signaling continuity in the partner-led governance model that has guided the group since the 1950s. The group's structural edge lies in its tax-integrated architecture: unlike most registered investment advisors, Plante Moran operates a unified P&L across accounting, tax, consulting, and wealth management. That design enables same-roof coordination of estate planning, deal structuring, and portfolio construction — a configuration that independent RIAs can mimic only through external partnerships, not native workflow.
General information
Firm type
Multi Family Office
Year founded
1977
AUM
$23.2B (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Southfield
Corporate office
3000 Town Center, Southfield, MI 48075, United States
Additional offices
Chicago, IL
Principals
Jason Drake
Firm Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does Plante Moran integrate its accounting and tax practice with the family office?
The wealth management division shares a single partnership structure with the CPA firm. This means estate attorneys, tax planners, and portfolio managers sit under the same P&L and collaborate on client engagements without the friction of cross-firm referrals. Tax-aware asset location, business transition planning, and philanthropic structuring are executed as one workflow rather than handed off between unaffiliated providers.
What investment strategies does Plante Moran Family Office pursue?
The group covers buyout, distressed debt, venture capital from seed through late-stage, fund of funds, and special situations. It also accesses real assets and private credit via affiliated entities PMCF Investment Banking and Realpoint. Client portfolios are built using a goals-based framework, blending direct alternatives, fund commitments, and traditional public-market exposures.
Is Plante Moran a single-family office or a multi-family office?
Plante Moran operates as a multi-family office serving high-net-worth individuals, families, and select institutions. Its wealth management division is the financial advisory arm of a large, partner-owned accounting firm, not a dedicated single-family entity. This structure allows it to pool resources and investment access across a broad client base.
Does Plante Moran take direct equity stakes or invest primarily through third-party funds?
The firm participates in direct co-investments and direct deal opportunities, in addition to allocating client capital to external funds. Its investment banking affiliate, PMCF, provides deal flow and due diligence support that can feed the family office's direct-investment pipeline. The exact mix between direct and fund commitments is determined on a per-client basis within their goals-based framework.
What role does Plante Moran's membership in Praxity play?
As a founding member of Praxity, an international association of independent accounting and advisory firms, Plante Moran gains cross-border sourcing, due diligence, and co-investment access without building its own foreign offices. This network extends the family office's practical geographic reach for clients with international interests or non-US deal flow.
How are Plante Moran's philanthropic structures organized?
The firm supports client philanthropic planning through its in-house estate and trust practice, and it maintains two distinct charitable entities: the Moran Family Foundation and Plante Moran Cares. These structures are used to advise clients on donor-advised funds, private foundation setup, and legacy giving strategies integrated with the broader wealth plan.
Who governs Plante Moran and how is the wealth management division overseen?
Plante Moran is governed by a partner group led by the firm managing partner, a role held by Jason Drake as of July 2024. The wealth management division operates under the same partnership umbrella as the accounting, tax, and consulting practices, with investment policy and oversight handled by internal investment committees whose composition reflects the firm's multi-disciplinary partnership.
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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