Plante Moran Wealth Management, a leading provider of investment advisory, trust, tax, estate planning, and business transition services, celebrated its 40th anniversary this summer! Within the Wealth Management practice, this year marks Plante Moran Financial Advisors reaching $13.2 billion* in assets under management; Plante Moran Trust appointing a new CEO; the expansion of Drive, an investment advisory and financial planning service dedicated to the emerging affluent; and the first annual Wealth Management Family Financial Summit.
John Lesser, President of Plante Moran Financial Advisors adds, “One of our greatest accomplishments has been growing our Wealth Management client base, team, and resources. We provide clients with their own personal Chief Financial Officer who helps manage the complexities of wealth, achieve financial goals, and move toward the priceless gift of peace of mind.”
Plante Moran Wealth Management had a strong foundation on which to build a practice of serving the financial needs of affluent families, nonprofits, and retirement plans. That foundation was Plante Moran, which began when Elorion Plante founded an accounting firm in Detroit, Michigan in 1924 that provided tax services to individuals and institutions. The business continued to grow and a young philosopher, Frank Moran, joined and in 1950, was named partner. The firm became known as Plante & Moran and was built with a culture and principles that would endure for generations. This culture is defined by putting the needs of a client first, living by the Golden Rule, and valuing staff as an asset to the firm. “There is no right way to do the wrong thing” are words of Frank Moran that you will still hear spoken within Plante Moran, which recently celebrated its 19th year as one of Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For®”.
By the 1960s, with one third of Plante Moran’s revenue coming from consulting work, primarily driven by the request of current clients, the firm continued to grow into a successful audit, tax, and consulting firm, trusted by many successful companies, institutions, and executives throughout the nation.
As client’s businesses succeeded, their personal balance sheets grew, and they began looking to Plante Moran for help to provide the same client-focused, industry-leading service for their personal wealth management needs. Again, rising to meet the needs of clients, in 1977 Rick Dirksen led Plante & Moran in forming the Total Personal Financial Planning Group to offer investment advice and financial planning to its clients. In 1993, Plante Moran Financial Advisors registered with the SEC, and in 2002, Plante Moran Trust was formed to meet the needs of clients who were asking for assistance as they transferred their wealth to the next generation. And, in 2004, an Estate and Business Transition team was formalized to assist clients with their estate planning, business transition, and insurance needs.
Today, Plante Moran Wealth Management brings all of these services and professionals together as part of one team, comprising over 300 professionals dedicated to delivering holistic, independent, and objective financial guidance to clients. Plante Moran Wealth Management looks forward to many more years of serving clients with the highest level of quality, integrity, and excellence!
