TOP FINANCIAL ADVISERS
The marching orders of Tom Blanchfield and partner Alex Stimpson are simple.
“Our clients’ goals are to stay bloody wealthy,” Blanchfield said. “They don’t want to lose it or go backwards.”
Blanchfield and Stimpson handle about $2 billion as part of Merrill Lynch’s private banking and investment group.
The majority of their 100 or so clients are in Orange County and Los Angeles.
Their clients’ average net worth is $25 million to $50 million. Many are worth more than $100 million, they said.
Much of the money managed by Blanchfield and Stimpson comes from clients who have cashed out by selling companies. Many continue to hold stock, which represents their core holdings, Blanchfield said.
The team actively manages about $750 million. Of that, $400 million is invested according to their own methods.
“We’re not consultants,” Blanchfield said. “We’re actually making money management decisions.”
Their strategies are similar to those employed by pension funds. Investments that produce income are a cornerstone of what they do, according to Blanchfield.
Much of the duo’s strategy is about finding investments they believe are undervalued. The idea is that the investments will outpace inflation over time.
Blanchfield and Stimpson met at a Merrill Lynch event. They became a team after discovering they had similar ideas about investing.
In 2001, Blanchfield took over the Merrill team once headed by Richard Gadbois, who left to form Vantis Equity Associates, an investment firm he started with hedge fund manager Steve Holzman and Home Depot Inc. cofounder Kenneth Langone. (Vantis since has closed and Gadbois has moved onto Mullin Asset Management, which invests in exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded notes.)
Blachfield has a background in trading stocks held as investments by companies.
Stimpson spent 10 years at an institutional investment group of a global bank.
Both are married and have three kids each.
2. Tom Blanchfield
– Company: Merrill Lynch & Co.
– Location: Newport Beach
– Years in business: 21
– Education: finance bachelor’s from University of Delaware
2. Alex Stimpson
– Company: Merrill Lynch & Co.
– Location: Newport Beach
– Years in business: 18
– Education: bachelor’s, master’s from Northwestern University
