Family Office Advisor to PE and VC Pros Hires New CIO

Boston Family Advisors has hired Laura Tuttle to serve as co-chief investment officer with Warren Gibbon.

Boston, Massachusetts (Simon Dawson, Bloomberg)

Boston, Massachusetts

(Simon Dawson, Bloomberg)

Boston Family Advisors, a family office advisory and management firm for private equity and venture capital professionals, has hired another chief investment officer.

The company announced Wednesday that it has hired Laura Tuttle to manage its investments alongside Warren Gibbon, who joined the firm in 2020. The two are expected to work on establishing asset allocation and investment strategies for the firm’s clients.

Boston Family Advisors launched in 2018 to establish and operate single-family offices for venture capital and private equity professionals and entrepreneurs. The firm currently advises on more than $1 billion, according to the announcement.

“Laura coming on is a result of the growth we’ve seen over the past year,” Nicholas Hofer, founder and president of Boston Family Advisers, said by phone. “Laura’s ability to select and diligence when it comes to emerging managers and managers on the private side just fits with what our families need.”

Tuttle most recently worked as a director at SCS Financial, a multi-family office. She joined SCS after spending 12 years at Cambridge Associates, the announcement said.

When she left SCS, Tuttle said she had planned to set up her own firm, but then began to consider partnering with a group that already existed. Hofer’s name kept coming up and “the rest is history,” she said.

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According to Hofer, the company’s 27 family office clients tend to be different than their peers for two reasons.

“If — and when — there’s a liquidity event, most of our clients have taken their proceeds and put them back into the illiquid markets,” Hofer said.

The other difference is more intangible: These clients don’t typically come from generational wealth. They “really grew up somewhat scrappy,” Hofer said, noting that these clients want to pass on similar values to their children.

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Given the firm’s clientele, private investment strategies often make up large portions of their portfolios. Within that realm, Tuttle plans to spend time sourcing deals and investments through emerging managers.

“We’re young enough in our life cycle that we can really give these emerging managers a shot,” Tuttle said by phone. “Larger funds can’t spend their time there.”

She added that she plans to seek out both first-time fund managers and investment managers run by women or diverse teams.

“I’m a strong believer that incorporating sustainability and diversity criteria in the diligence process enhances returns,” Tuttle said. “It’s just a good part of the process.”

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