SEC-registered wealth management firm Broker-dealer affiliated
First Foundation Advisors
As of its Form ADV filed July 29, 2026, First Foundation Advisors, an SEC-registered, broker-dealer affiliated wealth management firm in Irvine, California, reported $5.1 billion in regulatory assets under management across 3,373 accounts, ranking #42 among all wealth firms in California by assets.
Registration
- Registration
- SEC-registered, Approved
- CRD number
- 106075
- SEC file number
- 801-35973
- Registered since
- February 28, 1990
- Latest Form ADV filing
- July 29, 2026
- Organized as
- Corporation
- Fiscal year ends
- December
- Other offices
- 11
Key figures
- Regulatory assets under management
- $5.1 billion
- Discretionary
- $5.0 billion (98.4%)
- Non-discretionary
- $81.4 million
- Accounts
- 3,373 (3,347 discretionary)
- Clients
- 1,316, approximate as reported
- Employees
- 57
- Advisory staff
- 28 performing investment advisory functions
- Average account
- $1.5 million
- Asset growth, 1 year
- -7.0% (from $5.4 billion a year earlier)
- Asset growth, 3-year annual rate
- 0.5% (from $5.0 billion three years earlier)
- Asset growth, 5-year annual rate
- 0.5% (from $4.9 billion five years earlier)
- Client growth, 1 year
- -4.4% (from 1,377)
Broker-dealer affiliated. The firm is affiliated with a bank (Item 7.A(8)) that is part of a group with a broker-dealer (Item 7.A(1)) or controlled by a public company (Schedule D, Item 10.A). It is ranked among all wealth firms, the directory's view that includes wirehouses and broker-dealer firms, not in the main lists of independent RIAs. How firms are classed.
Growth rates come from the SEC's yearly snapshots and are left blank when the years are not comparable.
Rankings
Among all wealth firms, including wirehouses and broker-dealer firms.
Assets over time
Data table
| As of | RAUM |
|---|---|
| October 1, 2010 | $1.1 billion |
| October 3, 2011 | $1.5 billion |
| October 1, 2012 | $2.0 billion |
| October 1, 2013 | $2.2 billion |
| October 1, 2014 | $2.9 billion |
| October 1, 2015 | $3.4 billion |
| October 3, 2016 | $3.5 billion |
| October 2, 2017 | $4.0 billion |
| October 1, 2018 | $4.3 billion |
| October 1, 2019 | $3.9 billion |
| October 1, 2020 | $4.4 billion |
| October 4, 2021 | $4.9 billion |
| October 3, 2022 | $5.7 billion |
| October 5, 2023 | $5.0 billion |
| October 1, 2024 | $5.2 billion |
| September 2, 2025 | $5.4 billion |
| October 2, 2026 | $5.1 billion |
Clients and services
Client mix
| Measure | Bar | RAUM |
|---|---|---|
| High net worth individuals 623 clients | $3.5 billion | |
| Banking or thrift institutions 157 clients | $483.3 million | |
| Corporations or other businesses 57 clients | $345.0 million | |
| Charitable organizations 30 clients | $314.8 million | |
| Individuals (other than high net worth) 430 clients | $234.7 million | |
| Investment companies 1 client | $143.7 million | |
| Other 18 clients | $47.1 million |
How the firm is paid
- A percentage of assets under management
- Hourly charges
- Fixed fees
- Performance-based fees
Advisory services
- Financial planning
- Portfolio management for individuals or small businesses
- Portfolio management for investment companies
- Pension consulting
- Selection of other advisers
Financial planning clients (Item 5.H): 11-25.
Wrap fee program sponsor or portfolio manager: no.
Other business, affiliations and custody
Other business activities (Item 6.A)
- Insurance broker or agent
- Other financial products
Financial industry affiliations (Item 7.A)
- Banking or thrift institution
- Insurance company or agency
Custody (Item 9)
The firm reported custody of client cash or securities, $2.1 billion in total.
Investment adviser representatives
- IARs registered with the firm
- 29
- Also registered through a broker-dealer
- 0
- Employees who are IARs (Form ADV 5.B(3))
- 28
Designations held by the firm's IARs: CFA 11, CFP 9, PFS 1.
Between 25 and 29 of the firm's 29 IARs are registered in jurisdictions that require IAR CE. The source counts registrations by jurisdiction, and many IARs are registered in more than one, so the exact number is not knowable from it. IAR CE requirements by state.
Counts only. AdvisorIQ does not list individual people.
Disclosures
On Form ADV Item 11 the firm answered yes to 0 disclosure questions. See the detail on IAPD.
Succession and acquired firms
On Form ADV Item 4 the firm did not report succeeding to another adviser's business.
Similar-sized firms in California
| Firm | City | RAUM |
|---|---|---|
| Dunham | San Diego | $5.6 billion |
| Bakeravenue | San Francisco | $5.1 billion |
| Destination Wealth Management | Walnut Creek | $4.9 billion |
| Private Management Group Inc | Irvine | $4.9 billion |
| Clifford Swan Investment Counselors | Pasadena | $4.5 billion |
The five wealth firms, broker-dealer affiliated firms included, nearest in regulatory assets with a main office in the same state.
Elsewhere
- First Foundation Advisors on IAPD: Form ADV, brochures and disclosure detail.
- Firm website: www.ff-inc.com
- Wealth management firms in California
Firm data as of October 2, 2026, from ia100226.zip. Figures are as the firm reported them; corrections are made on Form ADV and appear after the next monthly reload.
Data as of October 2, 2026, from Form ADV. Sources: SEC registered adviser data (ia100226.zip) and IAPD compilation reports. How the directory is built.