Family offices are increasingly building charitable giving into the same relationship that manages a family's investments, taxes and estate plans. Mercer Advisors, the Denver-based wealth management and financial planning firm, has launched Mercer Advisors Philanthropic Services, a dedicated in-house team that helps clients define their charitable goals and turn them into actionable giving strategies linked to their wider financial, tax and estate planning.
The service is available now to clients in Mercer Advisors' Ascend and Regis service levels, which are designed for families with $10 million and $25 million or more in assets respectively. According to the firm, these high and ultra-high-net-worth segments are the fastest-growing part of its business, with 20% organic growth over the past year.
Bringing foundation-style rigour to more families
Daniel Gourvitch, President of Mercer Advisors, said many of the firm's wealthiest families are deeply charitable and focused on maximising the good they can do in their communities and beyond, and that philanthropic giving is a core focus of their Mercer Advisors family office. He explained that the aim is to offer a broader range of families the same rigorous approach that has typically been available only within the most sophisticated family foundations, while respecting that each family must decide for itself what it wants to achieve through giving.
The firm notes that, for many families, charitable giving remains disconnected from the rest of their financial lives, often driven by ad hoc requests or year-end decisions rather than a defined strategy. Giving can also create extra administrative work, while leaving families with limited insight into organisations beyond their immediate networks.
The new service addresses this through a structured process covering the whole giving lifecycle, built around a giving policy statement, a giving action plan and periodic giving reviews.
No extra cost and no minimum gift
Philanthropic Services is offered initially to Ascend and Regis clients at no additional cost and with no minimum giving level. The team is led by Eleonora Sharef, Head of Philanthropic Services, and works directly with clients alongside their existing financial adviser.
Sharef was previously a partner at McKinsey & Company, where she led the North America Wealth Management Practice and identified a gap in how clients experienced philanthropic advice, an insight shaped in part by her earlier experience as a venture-backed start-up founder.
Jon Kennedy, Managing Partner of the Regis Group at Mercer Advisors, said that once ultra-high-net-worth families feel confident in their financial plan, the conversation often turns to giving and legacy. He added that, with the right planning, clients may find they have more capacity to give than they realised, and can do so in ways that reflect their values, involve their families and shape the legacy they want to leave, with advisers bringing in a dedicated philanthropic specialist while keeping giving connected to the rest of the plan.
The launch reflects Mercer Advisors' continued investment in the services offered within its “family office for your family” model. The firm reports $114 billion in client assets as of 30 September 2026.
Source: Mercer Advisors via Business Wire.
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