Top Family Offices in Charleston 2026

Key Facts About Charleston's Family Office Market

• Charleston hosts roughly 14 family offices and wealth firms that provide family-office-level services, split between locally founded operations and national platforms with Lowcountry offices.
• Anderson Growth Partners (AGP) manages over $500 million in assets under advisory. This makes it the largest homegrown multi-family office (MFO) in the Charleston market.
• Sequoia Financial Group launched its boutique unit, Sequoia Sentinel, in 2023 with a $25 million minimum. Sentinel now represents more than half of Sequoia's $19.3 billion in firm-wide assets under management (AUM).
• The market spans five office types: single family offices (SFOs), MFOs, virtual family offices (VFOs), registered investment advisers with family office services, and accounting-based providers.
• Key geographic clusters sit along Downtown Charleston's Broad and Church Streets, Mt. Pleasant's Houston Northcutt corridor, and Daniel Island.
• National firm consolidation accelerated in 2024. Beacon Pointe absorbed Charleston Investment Advisors, and Sequoia acquired Family Asset Management ($281.82 million AUM).
• South Carolina charges no state estate tax. This draws ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families to the Lowcountry and fuels local office growth.

Landscape Overview

Charleston is an emerging Southeast wealth hub where homegrown family offices compete alongside national firms planting local roots. AGP, PermCap Investment Office, and Family Office Solutions all trace their origins to the Charleston area. National entrants include Creative Planning in Mt. Pleasant, Raymond James through Prestwick Capital Advisors downtown, and Beacon Pointe with offices on Church Street and Chuck Dawley Boulevard.

Two major deals in 2024 reshaped the competitive field. Sequoia Financial Group brought Family Asset Management's 20-year client base under its umbrella. Beacon Pointe merged with Charleston Investment Advisors, the firm Stephanie Mackara founded in 2014. These moves signal that larger platforms see Charleston's wealth market as worth consolidating rather than building from scratch.

The office-type mix reflects the city's size and wealth profile. South Street Partners operates as a dedicated SFO focused on resort real estate. AGP evolved from an SFO serving the Anderson family into a full MFO open to outside clients.

Harbour Wealth Management and Granite Bridge Wealth use the virtual family office model, coordinating existing CPAs, attorneys, and advisors into a single strategy. South Carolina's favorable tax code, strong quality of life, and steady Southeast population growth continue to pull wealthy families into the region, supporting demand for all five office types.

Family Office Comparison at a Glance

The table below ranks Charleston-area offices by available AUM data. Offices lacking public figures appear alphabetically. AUM figures reflect firm-wide totals where noted.

Family Office	Type	AUM Estimate	Investment Focus	Key Services	Location
Sequoia Sentinel	MFO	$19.3B (firm-wide)	UHNW full wealth planning	Wealth planning, estate, tax, family governance	Charleston, SC
Anderson Growth Partners	MFO	$500M+	Alternatives, PE, real estate	Advisory, fund-of-funds, direct investments, accounting	129 Broad St, Charleston
Family Asset Management (now Sequoia)	RIA/MFO	$281.82M	Multigenerational families	Portfolio management, pension, legacy planning	Charleston, SC
PermCap Investment Office	MFO	—	Multi-manager, co-investments	Reporting, bill pay, trust advisory, next-gen education	—
Creative Planning	National RIA/FO	—	Broad wealth planning	Tax, estate, charitable planning, outsourced accounting	Mt. Pleasant, SC
Beacon Pointe Advisors	National RIA/FO	—	Private clients, athletes, women	Financial, estate, tax, healthcare planning	Downtown & Mt. Pleasant
South Street Partners	SFO	—	Southeast resort real estate	Development, real estate allocation	Charleston area
Prestwick Capital (Raymond James)	FO Team	—	Wealth preservation, risk	Wealth planning, banking, CPA/attorney coordination	360 Concord St, Charleston
Family Office Solutions	Accounting FO	—	Back-office support	Accounting, tax, family office support	Charleston, SC
Harbour Wealth Management	VFO	—	Wealth structuring, tax	Trust, succession planning, charitable giving, risk management	—

Only three Charleston offices disclose specific AUM figures. Families comparing options should request fee schedules and minimum thresholds directly. Most local firms do not publish these numbers.

Top Picks by Strategy

• Largest Homegrown AUM: Anderson Growth Partners holds the deepest local track record in alternatives and private equity, with $500M+ under advisory and SEC registration.
• Best for UHNW Families ($25M+): Sequoia Sentinel offers dedicated family office services backed by a $19.3 billion national platform, with a $25 million entry point.
• Top Real Estate Allocator: South Street Partners has developed roughly 120,000 acres, 12,000 lots, and 22 golf courses in properties from Kiawah Island to the Carolina mountains.
• Strongest Co-Investment Access: PermCap Investment Office provides exclusive proprietary co-investment deals alongside multi-manager reporting and trust advisory.
• Most Accessible National Platform: Creative Planning delivers tax, estate, charitable planning, and outsourced accounting from its Mt. Pleasant office, with a $500,000 minimum.
• Leading Advisor for Women and Athletes: Beacon Pointe's Charleston team, led by Stephanie Mackara (TEDx speaker, author of Money Minded Families), targets women investors and professional athletes.
• Best Virtual Family Office Model: Harbour Wealth Management coordinates existing advisors into a unified strategy covering wealth structuring, charitable giving, and legacy planning without requiring full in-house staff.

Detailed Office Profiles

Anderson Growth Partners (AGP)

AGP is the strongest locally rooted alternatives platform in Charleston. The SEC-registered MFO manages over $500 million in assets under advisory. Its portfolio centers on private equity, liquid alternatives, and direct investments.

Clyde Anderson, chairman of Books-A-Million, created AGP in 1997 as a single family office to manage his entrepreneurial wealth. The firm opened to outside clients and launched Anderson Opportunity Capital, followed by a fund-of-funds strategy (Anderson Alternative Capital) and AGP Focus Capital.

AGP brings its accounting function in-house with a full-time staff of three, a rare feature among Charleston offices. Families seeking growth-oriented alternatives with minimal public market correlation will find AGP's approach distinctive. The firm operates from 129 Broad Street in downtown Charleston, with a second office in Birmingham, Alabama.

Sequoia Sentinel / Family Asset Management

Sequoia Sentinel represents the highest-threshold private wealth office option in the Charleston market. Launched in fall 2023, Sentinel serves UHNW clients with a $25 million account minimum. It manages more than half of Sequoia Financial Group's $19.3 billion in total AUM.

The 2024 purchase of Family Asset Management brought Dan Russler's and Andrew Barrett's 20-year client base into the Sequoia fold. That deal added $281.82 million and deep multigenerational relationships. Sequoia earned a spot on Barron's top RIA list for six straight years.

Sentinel clients receive estate planning, fiduciary consulting, pre-transaction planning, and family governance education. Charleston is now Sequoia's second South Carolina location after Hilton Head.

South Street Partners

No other Charleston-based family wealth platform operates at the physical scale of South Street Partners. The SFO focuses on resort and residential real estate development. Its portfolio spans roughly 120,000 acres, 12,000 developed lots, 2,800 hotel keys, and 22 golf courses.

Marquee projects include Kiawah Partners (host of the 2012, 2021, and 2031 PGA Championship) and Palmetto Bluff, a 20,000-acre preserve in Bluffton, South Carolina. The Cliffs consists of seven mountain and lake communities with courses by Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Tom Fazio. South Street also developed the King & Prince Beach Resort on St. Simons Island and the Residences at Salamander in Virginia.

Families with substantial capital looking to co-invest in Southeast coastal and mountain real estate should study South Street's model closely.

PermCap Investment Office

PermCap is the Charleston market's most service-intensive MFO for generational wealth preservation. Joe Steinberg established the firm in 2011 as his dedicated family office. It later expanded to serve multiple families.

Its service list runs unusually deep: consolidated multi-manager reporting, proprietary co-investments, bill pay, tax coordination, trust advisory, property management, next-generation financial education, and estate planning. PermCap also handles charitable giving strategies and family oversight, making it a true single-point coordinator for complex family needs.

The co-investment access sets it apart from advisory-only competitors in the Lowcountry.

Creative Planning

Creative Planning brings national-scale resources to Charleston through its Mt. Pleasant office at 950 Houston Northcutt Boulevard. Barron's ranked the firm No. 1 Independent Advisory Firm in 2017, and it continues to earn national recognition.

Its Charleston team, led by Managing Director Mathew Emmert and wealth manager Mike Croce, covers capital deployment, tax preparation, estate planning, and insurance. The office also provides family office services including outsourced accounting and bill pay.

Creative Planning sets a $500,000 minimum in investable assets, the lowest published threshold among Charleston's family office providers. Families with $500,000 to $5 million in liquid wealth get institutional-grade planning that independent local firms may not match at that asset level.

Beacon Pointe Advisors

Beacon Pointe's Charleston presence grew from the firm Stephanie Mackara built. She founded Charleston Investment Advisors in 2014, then merged with Beacon Pointe in 2024 to access broader resources. Mackara holds a Juris Doctorate and spoke at TEDx Charleston in 2024. Her book Money Minded Families reflects the firm's emphasis on financial education.

Partner Joseph Schofield III brings 27 years of experience advising high-net-worth families. Beacon Pointe runs two local offices: 171 Church Street downtown and 1311 Chuck Dawley Boulevard in Mt. Pleasant. The firm targets private clients, multigenerational families, women investors, and professional athletes, a niche that few other Charleston offices serve.

Prestwick Capital Advisors (Raymond James)

Prestwick Capital Advisors operates as a family office team within Raymond James at 360 Concord Street in downtown Charleston. The team pairs Private Wealth Consultants John Hanlon (MSFS, CPWA, ChFC, CLU credentials) and Brian Brazzell (CFP) with banking consultant Enayat Oliver.

Their model centers on coordinating wealth planning with a client's existing CPA and attorney rather than replacing those relationships. Prestwick focuses on wealth preservation and risk management, backed by Raymond James' global wealth solutions and banking resources. Families who already use Raymond James brokerage accounts can consolidate under Prestwick's family office umbrella without moving custodians.

Family Office Solutions

Family Office Solutions fills a back-office gap that most Charleston advisory firms leave open. The accounting-based provider delivers tax preparation, financial reporting, and support services built for the unique needs of family offices.

The firm handles the operational layer (bookkeeping, compliance, reporting) rather than competing on portfolio management. SFOs and MFOs need this work but often struggle to staff it. Charleston families running their own SFO can outsource accounting to Family Office Solutions while keeping capital deployment authority in-house or with a separate advisor.

Investment Trends Shaping This Market

National Firm Consolidation of Local Advisors

Two major deals in 2024 changed Charleston's family office landscape. Sequoia Financial Group absorbed Family Asset Management and its $281.82 million in client assets. Beacon Pointe merged with Charleston Investment Advisors. Both followed the same pattern: a national RIA buying a respected local firm to gain immediate Lowcountry client relationships and office space. Expect this trend to continue as national platforms compete for Southeast wealth.

Southeast Real Estate as a Core Allocation

Charleston wealth managers channel significant capital into resort and residential real estate. South Street Partners alone has developed roughly 120,000 acres in Southeast properties, from Kiawah Island to western Carolina mountains. AGP also invests directly in real estate where it holds a geographic or strategic advantage. Coastal South Carolina's tourism economy and population growth make real estate a natural fit for local family capital.

Rise of the Virtual Family Office Model

Harbour Wealth Management and Granite Bridge Wealth both use the VFO structure. They coordinate a family's existing CPA, attorney, and financial advisor into a unified strategy. This model suits high-net-worth families in Charleston who already have trusted professionals but lack central coordination. VFOs avoid the $1 million to $2 million annual overhead of a standalone SFO while still delivering integrated tax, estate, and wealth planning.

Tax-Driven Wealth Migration to South Carolina

South Carolina levies no state estate tax and maintains relatively low income tax rates. These conditions attract UHNW families relocating from higher-tax states like New York, California, and New Jersey. Charleston's quality of life, mild climate, and growing professional services sector reinforce the pull. Several national firms, including Creative Planning and Sequoia, have cited Southeastern growth as a factor in their local expansion.

How to Evaluate a Family Office in Charleston

Charleston's family office market is small enough that most families can meet every major provider within a few weeks. Yet the differences between firms are real, and choosing poorly wastes years and fees.

Start with the threshold question. UHNW families with $25 million or more qualify for Sequoia Sentinel's dedicated platform. Those in the $500,000 to $5 million range should compare Creative Planning and Beacon Pointe, both of which accept lower minimums.

Independence matters in a market undergoing rapid consolidation. AGP and PermCap remain independent, meaning their recommendations carry no parent-company product pressure. Firms recently absorbed into national platforms (Family Asset Management into Sequoia, Charleston Investment Advisors into Beacon Pointe) may offer broader resources. In contrast, they could shift their menus over time. Ask whether the advisor operates as a fiduciary at all times, not just for certain account types.

Verify SEC registration and check FINRA BrokerCheck for any disciplinary history. AGP holds SEC registration. Prestwick Capital operates under Raymond James' broker-dealer structure, which creates different regulatory obligations. For families with complex real estate holdings (common in the Lowcountry), confirm that the office provides property management reporting and real estate accounting. PermCap and Creative Planning both offer these services. Most other Charleston offices do not.

Test multigenerational depth by asking how the firm handles next-generation education and family oversight. PermCap runs formal next-gen financial training. Beacon Pointe's Mackara wrote a book on family money education. Families planning wealth transfers should verify whether the advisor has concrete programs for preparing heirs, not just talking points.

Which Family Office Fits Your Needs?

UHNW families relocating to the Lowcountry with $25 million or more in liquid assets should explore Sequoia Sentinel and Anderson Growth Partners first. Sentinel offers a national platform with deep estate planning resources. AGP provides direct access to alternative investments and private equity with a Charleston-native perspective. Families who prioritize co-investment deal flow will find PermCap's proprietary offerings more compelling than either.

Business owners approaching a liquidity event need pre-transaction planning that most wealth managers skip. Creative Planning covers exit strategy, tax-efficient structuring, and post-sale reinvestment from its Mt. Pleasant office. Its $500,000 entry point accommodates entrepreneurs before their exit closes.

Next-generation wealth holders and families managing inherited assets should evaluate Beacon Pointe for its educational approach and targeted programs for women investors. Professional athletes in the Charleston area can access Beacon Pointe's athlete-focused advisory services. Families running their own SFO who need operational support without giving up control should consider Family Office Solutions for outsourced accounting and tax.

Methodology

This guide profiles family offices in Charleston, SC using publicly available data from SEC filings, firm websites, industry rankings, and FINRA records. Office profiles reflect information current as of early 2026. AUM figures appear only where firms disclose them publicly; offices without published figures are noted accordingly. The analysis evaluated each firm for office type, service breadth, capital deployment focus, and accessibility at various wealth levels. Inclusion required either a physical Charleston-area office or a documented virtual family office practice serving Lowcountry clients. No firm paid for inclusion or placement in this article.