Best Practices When Considering a Single Family Office Structure

Valerie Wong Fountain

Managing Director, Head of Single Family Office Advisory, Morgan Stanley's Signature Access Platform

Valerie Wong Fountain is Head of Morgan Stanley's Signature Access Platform, which includes responsibility for Single Family Office Advisory and Lifestyle Advisory. She personally leads the Single Family Office Advisory team, which provides consultative services to clients who maintain, or are considering establishing, single family offices. Valerie also oversees Lifestyle Advisory, which delivers an extensive range of specialized resources to address the unique needs and aspirations of ultra high net worth families.

Prior to her current role, Valerie served as Co-Head of Private Capital Markets, a dedicated platform within the Global Capital Markets division of the Institutional Securities Group that is focused on raising capital for corporations in private market transactions. Valerie partnered closely with the Investment Banking Division to advise companies across multiple sectors on all matters related to their private funding goals. She also managed the private syndicate, connecting institutional pools of capital with high-quality issuers on a global basis.

Earlier in her Morgan Stanley career, Valerie served as Chief of Staff to James Gorman, Morgan Stanley's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. She was responsible for managing the Office of the Chairman and CEO and broader Firm management staff; liaising with senior executives, coverage officers, and clients on behalf of the Chairman and CEO; and driving key strategic projects and initiatives. She began her career in the Institutional Equity Division, where she traded a range of Delta One products including Exchange-Traded Products, Index and Custom Basket Total Return Equity Swaps, Futures, and Program Baskets. Valerie serves on the First Tee of Metropolitan New York Board of Directors and the Penn Golf Alumni Board. She is a leader of Morgan Stanley-related community affairs and philanthropic efforts. She is also a member of the Advisory Committee for the Firm's Multicultural Client Strategy Team. She recently completed a two-year term as Morgan Stanley's Corporate Leader for the Council on Foreign Relations.

Valerie earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating summa cum laude and as a University and Joseph Wharton Scholar. She was also a Division I athlete, competing as a three-year letter winner on the Women's Varsity Golf Team. In 2014, she was recognized as one of the top 50 Outstanding Asian Americans in Business by the Asian American Business Development Center and was awarded Most Influential APIA New Yorker by the National Association of Asian American Professionals New York. Valerie also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Marc Richman

Managing Director, Head of Single Family Office Advisory, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management

Marc Richman is a Managing Director and Private Wealth Advisor for Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, where he leads a team that provides investment and wealth planning services to ultra-high net worth clients. Marc joined Morgan Stanley in 2012 from Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management, where he was also a Managing Director.

He began his investment career over 40 years ago at Kidder Peabody. Over the course of his career, Marc has been recognized as a Barron's Top 1,200 Financial Advisor (2009-11 and 2013-19), a Financial Times Top 400 Financial Advisor (2014) and a Forbes Best in State Wealth Advisor (2019,2020).

Marc earned an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School (1980) and an A.B. from Clark University (1978). He is a board member of the Independent Mission Schools, the St. Martin dePorres School and the Children's Scholarship Fund of Philadelphia.

Brian Bernhardt

Senior Vice President Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management

Brian Bernhardt provides strategic investment advice and sophisticated financial planning services to ultra high net worth families. A Certified Financial Planner, he often works with his clients and their other trusted advisors to deliver family office resources, including estate plans focused on strategic asset placement, wealth transfer, philanthropic giving, and tax mitigation strategies.

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management in 2012, Brian served as a financial advisor at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. He is a graduate of Cornell University with a B.A. in political science and international relations.

He serves has served as a Trustee for St. Mark’s Endowment, the Advisory Board of St. James School, Trustee at the Agnes Irwin School, the Advisory Board of the Arts and Business Council, and Board Member, including Board Chair, at The Clay Studio.

David Shaw

Publishing Director, Family Business Magazine

David Shaw is the publishing director for MLR Media. He also co-founded and serves as conference director of the Transitions conferences, the Private Company Governance Summit and Family Business Legacy. David writes frequently on governance issues for public and private companies, and develops and maintains close relationships with multi-generational family-owned businesses. He is married, with two grown children.