The CEO of new multi-family office has brought in seven of his former colleagues, and an eighth recruit from Morgan Stanley.

Shortly after blasting off the launch-pad in June, Cresset Family Office has brought in eight senior industry figures to its group, with seven of the recruits coming from Ascent Private Capital Management of US Bank, joining their old colleague Michael Cole who leads this business.

The MFO’s parent, Cresset Capital Management, was founded late last year by the private equity figures Eric Becker and Avy Stein. In early summer it launched the MFO, led by Cole, CEO. Most recently he was president and founder of Ascent Private Capital Management and head of predecessor to Abbot Downing at Wells Fargo.

So now it appears that a large number of his erstwhile Ascent colleagues are moving over. Asked what it is doing in wake of this exodus, a spokesperson said: "Ascent Private Capital Management of US Bank has an excellent team of professionals working to ensure that clients continue to receive the great service they’ve come to expect."

The joiners:

- Scott Winget, JD, CPA – senior managing director for family enterprise consulting, formerly senior vice president and senior managing director for wealth sustainability with Ascent Private Capital Management. 
- Melissa Donohue, Ed.D – senior managing director for family wealth education and leadership development, formerly senior wealth education specialist with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
- Mark Foster – senior managing director for banking and credit consulting; formerly senior managing director, head of private banking with Ascent. 
- Jan Farren – senior managing director of marketing, communication, learning and development, formerly senior vice president and senior managing director of marketing and professional development with Ascent.

Others are Will Amerine, MBA – managing director of strategic partnerships, formerly managing director of strategic relationships at Ascent; Martim De Arantes Oliveira – regional managing director, northern California; formerly regional managing director and senior vice president with Ascent; Sisi Tran, J.D., LLM – managing director, wealth strategist, northern California; formerly senior vice president, managing director, wealth strategy with Ascent, and Tom Crotty, CPA – managing director, family office advisory, northern California; formerly managing director, CFO services at Ascent.

Cresset Family Office said it “will provide a new paradigm in serving clients in a comprehensive and cost-effective way”. FWR spoke to Cole about the business.

"Cresset Family Office works with clients who choose to manage wealth as a family enterprise with a focus on both strategic and tactical wealth management. These are generally families with multiple generations, households and significant complexity," Cole said. The firm does not have specific targets about how large its assets will be or specific constraints around the position of its clients, he added: "We have no AUM minimums or goals defined by AUM. Cresset Family Office engages with clients in any geography." 

Cole is highly regarded. Based in San Francisco, he is also a recently-published author, writing More Than Money: A Guide to Sustaining Wealth and Preserving The Family. (In March this year Ascent Private Capital Management - of US Bank – was awarded by Family Wealth Report as Best Multi-Family Office ($5 billion to $15 billion AuM/AuA) and for Outstanding Contribution to Wealth Management Thought Leadership for Cole’s book.) One wealth management industry figure told FWR that Cole was in a strong position: "The leadership team [at Cresset] is a `10'."

Cresset’s offerings also include Cresset Wealth Advisors, now overseeing more than $2 billion in AuM.