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Salem Partners Wealth Management
Salem Partners Wealth Management was established by Stephen Prough and John Dyett. The firm operates as a multi-family office serving high-net-worth families,...
Salem Partners Wealth Management
Salem Partners Wealth Management was established by Stephen Prough and John Dyett. The firm operates as a multi-family office serving high-net-worth families, entrepreneurs, and closely held businesses. The firm deploys capital across private equity, real estate, hedge funds, private credit, and fund-of-funds vehicles. Confirmed holdings include a minority stake in Clipper Media Holdings through Salem Clipper Investors and management of SW Contego, a hedge fund manager. Geographic focus centers on North America with additional activity in Hawaii through a 2015 advisory mandate. The firm lists 413 million USD in assets. It maintains offices in Los Angeles and Southlake, Texas. Stephen Prough serves on multiple boards including the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board since September 2019 and the Berti Prough Family Foundation. John Dyett holds board positions at OncoNano Medicine and Coronado Aesthetics. The firm participates in direct co-investments and SPVs alongside its advisory practice. Governance ties link principals to operating businesses and philanthropic vehicles in entertainment and education.
General information
Firm type
Multi Family Office
Year founded
1997
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Los Angeles
Corporate office
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Additional offices
Southlake, TX, United States
Principals
Stephen Prough
Co-Founder
John Dyett
Co-Founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Salem Partners Wealth Management?
John R. Costello serves as President of Salem Partners and oversees the wealth management division alongside the investment banking practice. The firm operates under his leadership across both the advisory and asset management arms, with investment decisions guided by the internal investment committee.
Is Salem Partners a single-family office or an investment bank?
Salem Partners is structured as a hybrid: a registered investment advisor and an SEC-registered investment bank operating under the same leadership. The wealth management arm serves multiple high-net-worth families and institutions, while the investment bank advises companies on M&A and capital raising. This makes it a multi-family wealth practice integrated with a boutique investment bank, not a single-family office.
What types of alternative assets does Salem Partners offer its wealth clients?
Through its investment banking origination network, Salem Partners sources private credit, commercial real estate, and private equity co-investment opportunities for its wealth management clients. The firm's advisory focus on media, technology, and healthcare creates deal flow in those sectors, though allocations are portfolio-specific and not pooled into a proprietary fund.
How does Salem Partners source proprietary deal flow?
The firm's investment bank, which advises on M&A and capital raising in media, entertainment, healthcare, and technology, generates origination that feeds the wealth management pipeline. This banking-led sourcing model is the primary differentiator — clients gain exposure to transactions that the firm structures or advises on, which would otherwise be unavailable to individual investors.
Does Salem Partners participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Salem Partners constructs portfolios that include both direct co-investments and commitments to external private funds. The mix depends on client liquidity needs and risk tolerance. Direct opportunities typically arise from the investment bank's advisory mandates, while fund commitments are allocated across middle-market buyout, private credit, and real estate strategies.
Which sectors does Salem Partners explicitly avoid?
Salem Partners has not publicly listed explicit avoidance criteria. However, its investment bank concentrates on media, entertainment, technology, and healthcare, and the wealth management practice's alternative sourcing reflects those sectors. Defense, heavy industrials, and commodity-driven businesses are absent from both its advisory track record and published sector focus.
How is Salem Partners regulated?
The wealth management division operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, with Form ADV filings available through the SEC's IAPD database. The investment bank is separately registered with the SEC and FINRA as a broker-dealer, creating a dual regulatory framework uncommon among family-wealth practices.
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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