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Key Facts
- At least 12 family offices and wealth management teams operate in Louisiana. These span independent multi-family offices (MFOs), single family offices (SFOs), virtual family offices (VFOs), and wirehouse-affiliated teams.
- The three largest firms by reported assets under management (AUM) are Matter Family Office ($10B under advisement), Family Office Partners ($2.5B under supervision), and Stokes Family Office ($2B under management).
- New Orleans, Metairie, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette serve as the state's four primary wealth management hubs.
- Oil and gas executive wealth, multigenerational Southern family fortunes, and entrepreneurial exits drive most demand in the state.
- The independent registered investment advisor (RIA) breakaway trend is accelerating. Family Office Partners launched in mid-2025 after departing UBS.
- Direct capital deployment is growing. Callais Capital Management has made 34 venture-stage deals along the Third Coast, and JMB Companies has run a patient capital model since 1877.
Landscape Overview
The family office Louisiana market reflects the state's distinct economic DNA. Oil and gas wealth from ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and ConocoPhillips fuels demand in Baton Rouge. Multigenerational fortunes built on maritime commerce, cable television, banking, and agriculture sustain firms in New Orleans and surrounding parishes.
New Orleans and neighboring Metairie anchor the MFO and wirehouse-affiliated segment, with four and three offices respectively. Baton Rouge concentrates on energy-sector wealth management. Lafayette has emerged as a base for independent breakaway platforms, while national RIAs maintain satellite offices in metro New Orleans, adding scale to a market otherwise defined by regional boutiques.
Louisiana's civil law system, rooted in the Napoleonic code, creates unusual estate planning complexity. The state's community property rules affect wealth transfer strategies in ways that differ from the 41 common-law states. These legal distinctions make local expertise especially valuable for ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families structuring dynasty trusts or managing intergenerational wealth.
Family Office Comparison
The table below compares the leading wealth management firms in Louisiana by type, assets, and focus. AUM figures appear only where publicly reported.
| Family Office | Type | AUM Estimate | Investment Focus | Services | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matter Family Office | MFO | $10B (under advisement) | Full wealth planning | Full service, family learning, project management | N/R |
| Family Office Partners | Independent MFO | $2.5B (under supervision) | Founders, entrepreneurs, UHNW | Exit planning, ESOP, tax, estate, oversight | Lafayette |
| Stokes Family Office | MFO/RIA | $2B (under management) | High net worth families, institutions | Financial planning, portfolio, tax, estate | New Orleans |
| Council Family Office | MFO | N/R | Multi-generational planning | Financial planning, asset management, legal | Metairie |
| Stenger Family Office | MFO | N/R | Oil & gas executives | Financial planning, tax prep, estate, risk | Baton Rouge |
| The Cardinal One Group | Wirehouse (Morgan Stanley) | N/R | UHNW families, estates | Wealth management, trust, charitable giving, ESG | New Orleans |
| Gary Smith | Wirehouse (Raymond James) | N/R | Intergenerational wealth | Oversight, legacy, trust, banking, insurance | Baton Rouge |
| Callais Capital Management | SFO/Venture Capital | N/R | Third Coast startups, Opportunity Zones | Venture capital, business advisory | Louisiana |
| JMB Companies | SFO/Direct Investment | N/R | Patient capital, middle-market | Direct allocation, business operations | N/R |
| Creative Planning | National RIA | N/R | Full wealth management | Full service, tax, estate, retirement | Metairie |
Matter Family Office leads on reported assets, though its "under advisement" metric differs from Stokes Family Office's "under management" figure. Family Office Partners, despite launching only in mid-2025, already supervises $2.5 billion in client assets.
Top Picks by Strategy
- Largest Reported Assets: Matter Family Office, with $10 billion under advisement and a full-service platform covering family operations, wealth planning, and family learning programs.
- Best for Oil & Gas Executives: Stenger Family Office, which has served ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and ConocoPhillips families for 43 years with integrated tax preparation and financial planning.
- Top Venture Capital Platform: Callais Capital Management, with 34 venture deals and 9 exits spanning four generations of the Callais family.
- Strongest Industry Recognition: Stokes Family Office, ranked Forbes Top RIA Firm for four consecutive years and #40 nationally, plus Newsweek's 2026 Top Financial Advisory Firms list.
- Best for Business Exits: Family Office Partners, purpose-built for founders and entrepreneurs with ESOP strategies, liquidity planning, and private company transaction expertise.
- Leading Wirehouse Team: The Cardinal One Group at Morgan Stanley, led by Beth Colón (Forbes Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-In-State, 2022-2024) with Family Wealth Director designation held by only 5% of Morgan Stanley advisors.
- Most Established Direct Investor: JMB Companies, deploying patient capital since 1877 with a focus on long-term business ownership rather than short-term buyout-and-flip strategies.
Top 10 Family Offices in Louisiana in Detail
Stokes Family Office
Forbes ranks Stokes Family Office #40 nationally among RIA firms, a distinction it has held four years running. The firm manages $2 billion for over 100 families from its New Orleans headquarters at 1100 Poydras Street.
Greg Stokes (CFP, JD) and Doug Stokes (CFA) lead as managing partners, combining legal and investment credentials. Services span financial planning, portfolio construction, tax strategy, and estate planning. Managing director Patrick McKay earned NAPA's Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisors Under 40 recognition. Schwab, Fidelity, and Pershing serve as custodians, giving clients flexibility in where assets are held.
Family Office Partners
Three former UBS Private Wealth advisors launched Family Office Partners in Lafayette in June 2025, bringing $2.5 billion in client assets immediately. Founders Benjamin Domingue (CEPA), Travis Frayard (CFP, CIMA, CEPA, CPM), and Shawna Prejean assembled a 12-person team. An external growth capital partner provided a strategic minority investment.
The firm targets founders and entrepreneurs navigating private company sales, ESOP strategies, and liquidity events. Goldman Sachs Custody Solutions and BNY Pershing serve as custodians. With 60-plus years of combined experience and a full suite covering tax strategy, estate structuring, and charitable giving, this stands as Louisiana's most significant independent breakaway in recent memory.
Stenger Family Office
Stenger Family Office has specialized in oil and gas executive wealth for 43 years from its Baton Rouge base. In-house CPAs prepare and file tax returns alongside financial advisors, creating a single integrated team for families retiring from ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and ConocoPhillips.
CEO Nick Stenger and vice president Bond Roth formerly led one of Morgan Stanley's largest wealth management teams before going independent. Fees start at 1.00% of assets and decrease as portfolios grow. The firm has served over 1,200 families since 1981, and its Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Team recognition in 2023 preceded the move to full independence.
Council Family Office
Council Family Office serves families who have outgrown traditional advisory relationships, operating from Metairie at 3850 N. Causeway Boulevard. Principal Tyson Vanlandingham and principal Mamie Favor (JD, CFP) lead a team that includes chief investment strategist Robert B. Green Jr. (CFA).
The firm partners with Independent Advisor Alliance for compliance and operational support. Charles Schwab serves as custodian. Council focuses on multi-generational wealth planning, combining asset management with legal coordination and strategy under one advisory umbrella.
Matter Family Office
With $10 billion in assets under advisement, Matter Family Office operates the largest reported advisory platform serving Louisiana families. The firm goes beyond standard wealth planning by adding family operations, family learning programs, project management, bill pay, and accounting.
This operational depth targets UHNW families seeking a single provider for both financial strategy and day-to-day household complexity. Families managing succession planning alongside investment oversight find value in this broader service model.
The Cardinal One Group (Morgan Stanley)
Beth Colón, a Forbes Top Women Wealth Advisor (Best-In-State, 2022-2024), leads this New Orleans team from 1100 Poydras Street with over 20 years of experience. Her 2022 selection to Morgan Stanley's Family Wealth Director Program places her among the top 5% of the firm's advisors.
The team offers trust services, alternative allocations, divorce financial analysis, charitable giving management, and sustainable investing. Families seeking institutional-grade resources with local relationship continuity represent the core client base.
Gary Smith (Raymond James)
Gary Smith's Raymond James team focuses on intergenerational wealth and family governance from its Baton Rouge office at 445 North Boulevard. Services span legacy planning, wealth transfer, trust administration, banking and lending, and insurance.
Raymond James's institutional platform provides banking and lending solutions not available through independent RIAs. Families seeking a single advisor to coordinate oversight structures, risk management, and succession strategies under wirehouse backing can access the full Raymond James ecosystem through this team.
Callais Capital Management
Four generations of the Callais family have built and exited nine companies. These include Callais Cablevision (sold 2003), Abdon Callais Offshore (sold 2013), and United Community Bancshares (sold 2014).
Today the family office invests as a venture capital firm along the Third Coast, with 34 portfolio companies and 11 businesses built from scratch. Callais also targets Opportunity Zone deals in the Mississippi River Valley region. This track record of direct ownership and venture deployment makes it Louisiana's most active private wealth office in early-stage investing.
JMB Companies
JMB Companies operates as one of the oldest continuously running single family offices in the United States, with roots dating to 1877. The firm deploys patient capital into defensible, middle-market niches. It buys and holds businesses for long-term value rather than flipping them within a fixed horizon.
JMB explicitly contrasts its approach with private equity, noting it does not rely on heavy leverage or cost-cutting to generate returns. Families with similar multi-generational horizons may find JMB's model instructive as a case study in direct investment discipline and co-investment structure.
Creative Planning (New Orleans Area)
Creative Planning offers the lowest entry point among Louisiana's family office providers, with a $500,000 minimum. Local wealth managers Annie Colvin (MBA, CFP) and Michael Zabalaoui (CFP, CPA/PFS) staff the Metairie office at 3330 West Esplanade Avenue.
Barron's ranked the firm No. 1 Independent Advisory Firm in 2017. It has appeared on Financial Advisor Magazine's Top RIA list from 2019 through 2025. Services cover portfolio management, tax preparation, trust and estate planning, retirement planning, and insurance.
Investment Trends Shaping This Market
Independent RIA Breakaway Momentum
Louisiana's most significant recent development is the migration of experienced advisory teams from wirehouses to independent RIA models. Stenger Family Office's principals left Morgan Stanley. Family Office Partners broke away from UBS in 2025 with $2.5 billion. This pattern mirrors national trends but carries more weight in Louisiana, where relationship-driven advisory culture and smaller market size make each departure more visible.
Oil and Gas Wealth Cycling into Diversified Portfolios
Baton Rouge's concentration of energy executives creates a recurring pattern. Families accumulate wealth through petroleum industry compensation (stock options, restricted stock units, pensions), then seek to spread those holdings into broader portfolios. Stenger Family Office has built 43 years of practice around this cycle. As energy companies shift capital expenditure strategies, the timing and tax treatment of stock sales becomes a critical planning variable for these families.
Third Coast Venture Capital and Direct Investing
Callais Capital Management's 34 venture deals and JMB Companies' patient capital model represent a growing trend. Louisiana family offices are deploying capital directly rather than through fund-of-funds structures. Jefferson Capital Partners adds growth capital and Opportunity Zone investing to this mix. The Mississippi River Valley corridor is developing its own startup ecosystem, and local firms serve as both investors and operational partners, often offering co-investment opportunities to aligned families.
Virtual and Hybrid Family Office Models
Pelican Family Office operates a virtual family office (VFO) model that coordinates tax, legal, risk, and wealth management specialists without housing all services in one firm. This approach can lower costs for families that do not need a full-service MFO. It also lets families in smaller Louisiana markets outside New Orleans and Baton Rouge access specialist expertise without relocating their advisory relationships.
How to Evaluate a Family Office in Louisiana
Louisiana's civil law system demands estate planning advisors who understand community property rules and forced heirship provisions. A firm unfamiliar with these distinctions can create costly structuring errors. Confirm that any office you engage has attorneys or planning specialists with Louisiana-specific civil law experience, not just common-law credentials.
Integrated tax preparation separates the top Louisiana firms from typical wealth advisors. Stokes Family Office and Stenger Family Office both embed CPAs within their advisory teams. Firms that outsource tax work entirely may miss coordination opportunities between investment decisions and tax filings, especially for oil and gas executives managing restricted stock and pension distributions.
The fiduciary standard matters in Louisiana's mixed market. Some offices operate as SEC-registered investment advisors bound to act in clients' best interests. Others sit within wirehouses where commission-based products may be available. Check each firm's Form ADV Part 2A for detailed fee disclosures, and verify fiduciary status through SEC registration records.
Custodian relationships reveal how your assets will be held. Stokes uses Schwab, Fidelity, and Pershing. Family Office Partners uses Goldman Sachs Custody Solutions and BNY Pershing. Council uses Schwab. Confirm that your prospective firm uses a custodian you trust, and understand whether switching advisors will require moving accounts.
Fee structures vary from 0.25% to 1.50% of managed assets in this market. Stenger starts most clients at 1.00% and negotiates lower as portfolios grow. Creative Planning sets a $500,000 minimum. Smaller boutiques may have implicit UHNW minimums. Request a written fee schedule before any engagement.
Which Family Office Fits Your Needs?
UHNW families managing $25 million or more in liquid assets should evaluate Stokes Family Office for its nationally recognized platform and Forbes Top 40 RIA ranking. Matter Family Office suits those who want broader operational services including bill pay, accounting, and family learning. Both offer the multi-generational planning depth that complex family structures demand.
Business owners preparing for a liquidity event or company sale will find the most relevant expertise at Family Office Partners. That firm was purpose-built for exit planning, ESOP strategies, and private company transactions. Stenger Family Office serves a narrower but equally deep niche for oil and gas executives navigating ExxonMobil, Chevron, or Shell retirement and stock disposition decisions.
Next-generation wealth holders considering direct deals should explore Callais Capital Management for its venture portfolio or JMB Companies for its 147-year track record of direct business ownership. Families wanting wirehouse backing with local continuity can access The Cardinal One Group at Morgan Stanley in New Orleans or Gary Smith's Raymond James team in Baton Rouge. Those seeking lower-cost coordination without a full MFO commitment can explore Pelican Family Office's virtual model.
Methodology
This article on family office Louisiana draws from publicly available data including SEC filings, firm websites, and industry rankings from Forbes, Financial Advisor Magazine, Newsweek, and Barron's as of early 2026. Office profiles reflect information confirmed through firm websites and regulatory filings. AUM figures use each firm's own reported metric, which may include assets under management, under advisement, or under supervision. Firms were selected based on their documented presence in Louisiana and relevance to UHNW families seeking wealth management, estate planning, and direct investment services in the state.
