True North Advisors, LLC (Dallas)

Name: True North Advisors, LLC
Address: 3131 Turtle Creek, Dallas, TX, 75219
Telephone: 214-360-7300

True North Advisors, LLC is a large advisory firm based in Dallas. It manages $1.39 billion of regulatory assets for 3,011 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2006 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Arizona, California, Colorado, and 10 other states.

True North Advisors provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients, pension consulting services, and selection of other advisers. It prepares financial plans for less than 10 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

True North Advisors: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of True North Advisors, LLC is $1.39 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 576% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $1.36 billion in discretionary accounts and $27.54 million in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $453.37 thousand each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $2.3 million.

True North Advisors has custody of $124.52 million in cash and securities for 114 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in investment and business development companies the most. They account for 59% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is cash and cash equivalents, which make up 12% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in pooled investment vehicles form 11% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay True North Advisors, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and fixed fees. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients True North Advisors serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, investment companies, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, pooled investment vehicles, banking or thrift institutions, corporations or other businesses, pension and profit sharing plans, and state or municipal government entities. The largest group of clients of True North Advisors is high net worth individuals with 281 clients and $1.21 billion of assets under management. Among the 9 most similar advisory firms, True North Advisors has the 4th highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $1.39 billion for 561 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. None of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

True North Advisors also advises several private funds. Namely, three hedge funds, four real estate funds, three other private funds, and one venture capital fund. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons is $500,000 for each fund.

Careers at True North Advisors, LLC

The company employs 24 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 46 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 11 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There are 2 people with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm compensates employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Scott Adair Wood	Founding principal, chief executive officer	1 Jul 2000	50% - 75%	2114641
Mark Hunter Gehlbach	Founding principal	1 Jul 2000	25% - 50%	2833692
Matthew Edward Fitzsimmons	Principal, vice president of investments	1 Jun 2003	Other	3235326
Victor Mitra Esclamado	Chief operating officer	1 Jul 2009	Other	1243815
Paula Pond Davis	Vice president of business operations	1 Jan 2013	Other	2266831
Paula Pond Holt	Vice president of business operations	1 Jan 2013	Other	2266831
Lacey Elizabeth Shrum	Chief compliance officer	1 Jan 2015	Other	5486180
William Michael Sharp	Chief compliance officer and vp of finance	1 Jan 2018	Other	7090977
Dhruv Maniktala	Vp of global investment strategy	1 Jan 2018	Other	4884359
Donald Morris Woodard	Member	1 Jan 2019	Other	1214213
Jeffrey Allen Crawford	Member	1 Jan 2019	Other	4352838
Joe Chad Prestwood	Member	1 Jan 2019	Other	3084920
Douglas Stephen Frazier	Member	1 Jan 2019	Other	4489733
Christopher Elliott Pate	Managing director fort worth	1 Jan 2019	Other	5910801

Based in Dallas

The principal office where True North Advisors, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 3131 Turtle Creek, Dallas, TX 75219, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in Fort Worth, TX. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 214-360-7300 or by fax 214-360-7301. The normal business hours are 8:00 am - 5:00 pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at truenorthadvisors.com.