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Sierra Ocean
Sierra Ocean opened in Ripon, California in 2021, the third advisory platform in Jeff Burrow's career. Burrow began at Morgan Stanley in the late 1990s,...
Sierra Ocean
Sierra Ocean opened in Ripon, California in 2021, the third advisory platform in Jeff Burrow's career. Burrow began at Morgan Stanley in the late 1990s, co-founded an independent firm called Valley Wealth in 2008, then merged it into United Capital, which Goldman Sachs later acquired and rebranded as Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management. He left the wirehouse architecture behind in 2021 to build an independent firm anchored in the Central Valley. The firm allocates client capital across traditional model portfolios — built with research from BlackRock, J.P. Morgan, GMO, and VanEck — as well as a dedicated alternatives platform that covers real estate, private equity, private credit, and more than 12 hedge fund strategies. Real estate offerings span multifamily, industrial, data center, self-storage, and specialized medical properties. The firm also constructs custom portfolios for concentrated stock positions and thematic exposures including biotechnology, cybersecurity, robotics and artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and blockchain. Access to the alternatives menu is restricted to accredited investors and qualified purchasers. Sierra Ocean operates as a three-person team with a single office. Director of Operations Dezaree Seeds joined at launch from a firm that had been absorbed by a global asset manager, bringing compliance and back-office architecture. Director of Client Services Mayra Meza holds a Series 65 and adds franchise-investing and nonprofit board experience. The firm segments its service tiers by liquid net worth — starting at $2 million — and explicitly targets business owners, executives, and their families. Sierra Ocean's architecture is shaped by Burrow's stated mission to avoid commission-driven product sales. The firm does not receive kickbacks on recommendations and operates as a fee-only registered investment advisor. That posture, combined with a hyper-local Central Valley footprint and a team recruited from firms that exited to Wall Street consolidators, positions it as a counterweight to the wirehouse model Burrow twice departed.
General information
Firm type
Bank / Wealth / Trust
Year founded
2021
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Ripon
Corporate office
Ripon, CA, United States
Principals
Jeff Burrow
Founder, Lead Advisor
Dezaree Seeds
Director of Operations
Mayra Meza
Director of Client Services
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Sierra Ocean?
Jeff Burrow, the founder and lead advisor, oversees investment policy and portfolio construction. He holds the CFP and AIF designations and began his career at Morgan Stanley in the late 1990s before co-founding Valley Wealth in 2008. He later operated within Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management, leaving in 2021 to launch Sierra Ocean as an independent RIA.
How does Sierra Ocean source alternative investments?
The firm provides clients with access to private real estate, private equity, private credit, and hedge fund strategies, but it does not disclose a proprietary sourcing model. Its alternatives platform is available exclusively to clients who meet accredited investor or qualified purchaser thresholds. The firm's website indicates it offers over 12 hedge fund strategies and a range of real estate property types including data centers and specialized medical.
Is Sierra Ocean a family office or a traditional wealth management firm?
Sierra Ocean operates as a registered investment advisor and wealth management firm structured to serve individuals, business entities, nonprofits, and trusts on a discretionary and non-discretionary basis. Its client minimums and three-tier service model align it with a traditional RIA rather than a family office architecture.
What minimum assets does Sierra Ocean require?
The firm publishes three service tiers based on liquid net worth: Silver at $2 million or more, Gold at $4 million or more, and Platinum at $10 million or more. Platinum-tier clients receive multigenerational planning, charitable giving strategy, and coordination with external estate attorneys, CPAs, and insurance brokers.
How is Sierra Ocean compensated?
According to the firm's own disclosures, Sierra Ocean does not receive commissions or kickbacks for recommending products. It operates as a fee-based practice, a structure consistent with its registration as an RIA and founder Jeff Burrow's stated intent to avoid the product-sales model he encountered earlier in his career.
What asset classes does Sierra Ocean cover?
The firm builds traditional model portfolios using institutional research and also constructs custom portfolios for concentrated stock and thematic exposures — including biotechnology, cybersecurity, robotics, AI, cloud computing, and blockchain. Its alternatives menu extends to real estate, private equity, private credit, and over a dozen hedge fund strategies.
In which geographic regions does Sierra Ocean operate?
Sierra Ocean is headquartered in Ripon, California, and serves clients throughout the United States, working both in person and virtually. Its leadership team is drawn from the Central Valley, and the firm's community involvement — including board roles with the Stanislaus County Estate Planning Council and the Modesto Children's Museum — anchors it in that region.
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