Key Takeaways
- • Mercer Advisors launched Mercer Advisors Philanthropic Services, a dedicated in-house team that turns clients' charitable goals into giving strategies integrated with their financial, tax and estate plans.
- • The service is available now at no additional cost and with no minimum giving level to clients in the Ascend ($10 million+) and Regis ($25 million+) service levels.
- • The Ascend and Regis segments are the firm's fastest-growing, with 20% organic growth over the last year, according to the firm's announcement.
- • The team is led by Eleonora Sharef, Head of Philanthropic Services, formerly a partner at McKinsey & Company, and works alongside each client's existing financial advisor.
- • Mercer Global Advisors reports $114 billion in client assets as of September 30, 2026, and more than 120 locations nationally.
Summary
Mercer Advisors, Inc., a national wealth management and financial planning firm headquartered in Denver, announced the launch of Mercer Advisors Philanthropic Services, a dedicated in-house team designed to help clients define charitable goals and convert them into giving strategies integrated with broader financial, tax and estate planning. The offering is available to clients in the firm's 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 its fastest-growing, with 20% organic growth in the last year.
Daniel Gourvitch, President of Mercer Advisors, said the firm aims to bring the rigor typically reserved for the most sophisticated family foundations to a broader range of families, integrating giving into the same relationship that manages their investments, taxes and estate plans. He added that each family must define for itself what it wants to accomplish through giving.
The firm says charitable giving is often disconnected from clients' broader financial lives, driven by ad hoc requests or year-end decisions. The new service seeks to address this through a structured process spanning the full giving lifecycle, including a giving policy statement, a giving action plan and periodic giving reviews. The service is initially offered at no additional cost and with no minimum giving level, and the team works directly with clients alongside their existing financial advisor.
Jon Kennedy, Managing Partner of the Regis Group at Mercer Advisors, said that once ultra-high-net-worth families are confident in their financial plans, conversations often turn to giving and legacy, and that advisors can now bring a dedicated philanthropic specialist into those discussions while remaining central to the relationship.
Eleonora Sharef, Head of Philanthropic Services, previously was a partner at McKinsey & Company, where she led the North America Wealth Management Practice. The firm notes that Mercer Global Advisors, founded in 1985, has $114 billion in client assets as of September 30, 2026, and was ranked the number one RIA firm in the nation for three consecutive years by Barron's. The launch reflects the firm's continued investment in its "family office for your family" service model. Mercer Advisors Tax Services LLC offers the philanthropic planning and action plan services, which are educational and consultative in nature, and the firm notes it is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
Daniel Gourvitch, President of Mercer Advisors, said the firm aims to bring the rigor typically reserved for the most sophisticated family foundations to a broader range of families, integrating giving into the same relationship that manages their investments, taxes and estate plans. He added that each family must define for itself what it wants to accomplish through giving.
The firm says charitable giving is often disconnected from clients' broader financial lives, driven by ad hoc requests or year-end decisions. The new service seeks to address this through a structured process spanning the full giving lifecycle, including a giving policy statement, a giving action plan and periodic giving reviews. The service is initially offered at no additional cost and with no minimum giving level, and the team works directly with clients alongside their existing financial advisor.
Jon Kennedy, Managing Partner of the Regis Group at Mercer Advisors, said that once ultra-high-net-worth families are confident in their financial plans, conversations often turn to giving and legacy, and that advisors can now bring a dedicated philanthropic specialist into those discussions while remaining central to the relationship.
Eleonora Sharef, Head of Philanthropic Services, previously was a partner at McKinsey & Company, where she led the North America Wealth Management Practice. The firm notes that Mercer Global Advisors, founded in 1985, has $114 billion in client assets as of September 30, 2026, and was ranked the number one RIA firm in the nation for three consecutive years by Barron's. The launch reflects the firm's continued investment in its "family office for your family" service model. Mercer Advisors Tax Services LLC offers the philanthropic planning and action plan services, which are educational and consultative in nature, and the firm notes it is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
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