Episode summary
RIA Edge Podcast: Building a Multigenerational Wealth Firm with Kristen Bauer
Summary
Laird Norton Wetherby is positioning itself as a multigenerational partner for wealthy families rather than a growth-at-all-costs roll-up. Kristen Bauer says the firm, which has about 1,500 families, six offices, two trust companies and roughly $18 billion in assets, is built to help families preserve values, legacies and capital across generations. Its growth over the past several years has come through mergers that added private investing and impact investing capabilities, but only when those moves improved client service, employee opportunity and owner outcomes.
A major differentiator is the in-house trust platform. Bauer argues that trust administration, fiduciary responsibility and state-specific trust law matter deeply for families worried about preserving wealth over time, which is why the firm now has trust capabilities in Washington and South Dakota. She also says about 75% of growth comes from bringing on new families, often through referrals, thought leadership and warm relationships rather than paid lead generation.
The conversation also centered on how next-generation clients are changing the agenda. Bauer says younger family members increasingly want value-aligned and impact investing solutions, along with stronger family governance, philanthropy and even banking-like services. Internally, the firm is trying to use artificial intelligence to make employees more efficient without losing human relationships, and it is emphasizing employee ownership as both a retention tool and a way to align the team with the firm’s long-term mission.
Key takeaways
- Kristen Bauer says Laird Norton Wetherby is focused on “thoughtful growth,” not growth at all costs, because client service and employee opportunity come first.
- Bauer says about 75% of growth comes from new families, with referrals, thought leadership and warm relationships doing most of the prospecting work.
- The firm’s in-house trust companies in Washington and South Dakota are a key advantage for families that need fiduciary support and multigenerational wealth preservation.
- Bauer says 40% of clients already have at least one impact-aligned investment, showing that demand for values-based portfolios remains strong.
- The firm is using AI to improve efficiency, but Bauer says the goal is to “make us more human,” not to replace relationship-driven advice.
Notable quotes
“So, it's a really interesting story. We call ourselves L & W because Lar Norton Weatherbe is a little bit of a mouthful, but we were established almost 60 years ago”
“So our growth really has been about b building out that full suite of services on behalf of our clients”
“I would say it's thoughtful growth that's really about balancing the entire ecosystem”
“we did not. We lean into it. It's really important to some of our clients”
“how can we use AI to make us more human”
How the episode opens
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Hi everyone, welcome to the RA Edge podcast. This is, as I hope you know by now, my opportunity to speak to executives who are building growing wealth management firms to try to understand the opportunities and some of the constraints that they see in the industry as they endeavor to put their strategies into place. Today I'm thrilled to be speaking with Christine Kristen Bower who is the CEO of Lord Leairard Norton Weatherbe.
Kristen, thanks very much for joining us.
Of course, honor to be here. Thanks. Uh, the way we usually start these things out for folks who aren't familiar with the firm, how do you describe Lar Norton Weatherbe to those in the financial services industry? Not necessarily clients, but others in the financial services ecosystem.
Yeah. So, it's a really interesting story. We call ourselves L & W because Lar Norton Weatherbe is a little bit of a mouthful, but we were established almost 60 years ago by the Leairard and Norton family who really thought about building a firm that was yes, excellent at managing their multi-generational wealth, but really wanted to honor their values and their legacies and really sustaining and enhancing it.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- multigenerational wealth
- trust services
- impact investing
- advisor development
- artificial intelligence
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Laird Norton Wetherby
- Filament LLC
- Wetherby Asset Management
- Tiedemann Advisors
- Threshold Group
- Medalia Healthcare
- Arthur Andersen LLP
Watch the episode
Watch “RIA Edge Podcast: Building a Multigenerational Wealth Firm with Kristen Bauer” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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