Willner & Heller

Willner & Heller

David Willner and Jeffrey Heller established the firm in Encino, California in 2003 as a registered investment adviser built for direct client relationships. The shop emerged during a period of broker-dealer consolidation, choosing an independent RIA structure that aligns fees with fiduciary advice rather than transaction commissions. From its single San Fernando Valley location, the firm has maintained a deliberately narrow geographic focus, serving individuals and charitable entities across the Greater Los Angeles area. Willner & Heller operates as a discretionary wealth manager, constructing portfolios across public equities, fixed income, and alternative assets for a select base of high-net-worth families. The firm does not market proprietary funds or structured products; instead, it runs a manager-selection and asset-allocation process that draws on third-party institutional strategies. Its client mix includes philanthropic organizations, which adds a tax-aware and multi-horizon dimension to portfolio construction. Headquartered in Encino with no additional offices, the firm's compact footprint reflects a conscious choice to keep the advisor-to-client ratio intimate. The professional team size has not been publicly disclosed, but the firm's regulatory filings confirm it conducts investment advisory business as its primary activity, with no material sideline operations in insurance brokerage, tax preparation, or legal services. Willner & Heller's structural differentiator lies in its simplicity. In an era of national RIA consolidators, private-equity-backed aggregators, and multi-family office platforms, the firm remains a partnership-model boutique with a single office, serving a concentrated client list directly. This architecture means no inter-office politics, no product-shelf pressure, and no external shareholders demanding growth metrics — a genuine rarity among established RIAs with over twenty years of operating history.