RIA Edge Podcast: Chris Erblich on TFO’s Response to Client Needs

How can a firm truly put families first in wealth management?

Join host David Armstrong as he interviews Chris Erblich, co-founder of TFO Family Office Partners. Chris shares the origin story and evolution of TFO’s three distinct but interconnected entities: a full-service multifamily office in Phoenix, a wealth management firm in Ohio and a South Dakota-based public trust company. He explains how each was built in response to real client needs rather than a grand business plan.

It all started with a family office sparked by a gap in legal-client relationships, expanded into wealth management and ultimately the firm formed a trust company to address trustee challenges for ultra-high-net-worth families. Throughout the conversation, Chris emphasizes TFO’s purpose-driven mission: to help families, however and wherever they need it.

David and Chris discuss:

• What prompted estate attorney Elbrich to first convince his law firm to back an in-house multi-family office, and why he and his partners eventually bought it outright.
• How an opportunistic meeting with a Genspring advisor looking for a new home led him to build a separate MFO in Phoenix.
• The firm’s approach to client services, tax preparation and estate planning.
• Building an in-house South Dakota Trust company that was, at first, seen as an accommodation, but soon became a profitable business service highly valued by clients. 
• Elbrich’s mission statement and the one question that helps him decide where to focus his efforts growing the business. 
• Future growth plans, and how he feels about mergers and acquisitions in the RIA space. 

Resources:

• Listen to the RIA Edge Podcast on WealthManagement.com
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Spotify

 Connect With David Armstrong:

• WealthManagement.com
• LinkedIn: WealthManagment.com
• LinkedIn: David Armstrong
• Twitter: David Armstrong
• LinkedIn: Informa

Connect With Chris Erblich:

• TFO Wealth Partners
• TFO Family Office Partners
• LinkedIn: Chris Erblich
• LinkedIn: TFO Wealth Partners
• LinkedIn: TFO Family Office Partners
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