Shepherd Advisor

Donald W. Nicholson, the firm's founder and President, oversees all advisory and compliance functions, including manager selection and portfolio construction. He has led the firm since its founding in 2002 and is listed as the sole principal in SEC filings. The firm does not publicly name an investment committee or additional portfolio managers.

The firm operates a sub-advisory or manager-of-managers model, conducting due diligence on third-party institutional asset managers and combining them into client portfolios. The specific due-diligence framework is not publicly documented, but SEC filings describe the firm's process as ongoing monitoring of selected managers across equity, fixed-income, and alternative strategies.

Shepherd Advisor is a traditional registered investment adviser (RIA), not a family office. Its client base consists of individuals, high-net-worth individuals, and small institutions rather than a single family's capital. The firm's Form ADV describes it as providing portfolio management and financial planning services to non-affiliated clients.

The firm allocates to both traditional separate accounts and pooled investment vehicles, including private funds. SEC filings note that Shepherd Advisor recommends investment in limited partnerships and interval funds for alternative exposure, meaning clients gain access to asset classes like private real estate and hedge funds through commingled fund structures rather than direct co-investments.

Shepherd Advisor does not take custody of client assets — a structural feature common among independent RIAs. The firm's ADV states that clients maintain custody of their funds at qualified custodians such as Charles Schwab, with Shepherd Advisor receiving discretionary trading authority to execute its manager-allocation models on their behalf.