Highland

What Highland does

Highland Private Wealth Management is a Bellevue, Washington-based registered investment adviser founded in 1999 by John Christianson, CFA. The firm serves more than 500 high-net-worth households across Washington state, primarily executives, business owners, and families with multi-generational wealth, with a secondary office in Ellensburg. As of September 2025, Highland managed approximately $2.8 billion in assets under management, up from $1.2 billion in 2022.

Highland delivers its services through three integrated product lines: Investment Management (goal-based portfolio construction with access to institutional strategies through the firm's Hightower Advisors partnership, plus concentrated-stock diversification and alternative investments), Wealth Advisory (comprehensive financial planning, tax and estate strategy, risk management, and life-transition guidance), and Money + Life Integration branded as Living Fully® (a methodology aligning financial resources with client values and life purpose). Revenue is generated primarily through recurring advisory fees as a percentage of assets under management; pricing is bespoke and not publicly disclosed. The GTM motion is enterprise field sales in form — direct, in-person 'Wealth Confidant' relationships — applied to a HNW consumer segment, with content marketing and referrals as the top-of-funnel engine.

The firm operates as a subsidiary of Hightower Advisors, LLC following a strategic investment in August 2022, and merged with Trellis Advisors in 2023 to expand capacity. Underlying technology is not publicly disclosed beyond a third-party client portal; no proprietary AI/ML capabilities, APIs, or software products are referenced. Highland has been recognized three consecutive years (2023–2025) as one of the Puget Sound Business Journal's Fastest Growing Companies and Washington's Best Workplaces.

Name

Highland

Legal name

Hightower Advisors, LLC

Website

https://highlandprivate.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Highland Private Wealth Management is a Bellevue, Washington-based RIA founded in 1999 serving 500+ HNW households with $2.8B in AUM through Investment Management, Wealth Advisory, and its 'Living Fully®' life-planning methodology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Wealth Management (FSAEABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Wealth & Multi-Generational Planning RIAs (HNW/UHNW-lite) (FSAAACAH), Private Client/High-Net-Worth Advisory (FSAEAAAN), Estate Planning & Trust Structuring Advisory (FSAEAKAC)

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Investment advisory services
• Financial planning services
• Estate planning services
• Portfolio management services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bellevue

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Wealth Management Advisory Fees: The firm generates revenue through wealth management advisory services, including investment management, financial planning, and wealth advisory. Services include access to institutional strategies through partnership with Hightower Advisors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Highland is a wealth advisory firm that delivers personalized Investment Management, Wealth Advisory, and Money + Life Integration (Living Fully®) services to high-net-worth individuals, executives, business owners, and multi-generational families. Services include goal-based portfolio management, institutional strategy access via Hightower Advisors, tax and estate planning, risk management, alternative investments, and life transition guidance. The firm operates through dedicated "Wealth Confidant" advisor relationships at offices in Bellevue and Ellensburg, Washington.

Product overview

Highland Private is a wealth management firm offering three integrated core services: Investment Management (goal-based portfolio management with access to institutional strategies through Hightower Advisors), Wealth Advisory (comprehensive financial planning, tax/estate strategy, and life transition guidance), and Money + Life Integration branded as 'Living Fully®' (aligning financial resources with client values and life purpose). These services work together as a unified wealth advisory experience, where advisors serve as 'Wealth Confidants' guiding clients through the integration of their financial resources and life goals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Living Fully: A core value and brand philosophy at Highland that informs decision making - the concept that wealth should fuel a life of meaning and purpose, and that every client should experience the joy of thriving.

Products and services

• Investment Management Goal-based portfolio management customized to risk tolerance and return objectives, with access to institutional strategies and investments through the Hightower Advisors partnership. Includes concentrated stock diversification tools, tax and fee efficiencies, and alternative investment opportunities for high-net-worth individuals and families.
• Wealth Advisory Comprehensive financial roadmap service that aligns life goals with tax and estate strategy for wealth protection and transfer, risk management through insurance specialists, and guidance through life transitions. Built for executives, business owners, and multi-generational families.
• Money + Life Integration (Living Fully®) Highland's proprietary approach that aligns financial resources with client values and life priorities, integrating wealth into a purposeful life strategy focused on thriving. Delivered through dedicated "Wealth Confidant" advisor relationships and supported by the firm's Well-Gru client portal.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Edelman Financial Engines: One of the largest US RIAs combining workplace-plan participants and HNW advisory; overlaps with Highland's HNW investment management and financial planning capabilities, though at a much larger scale.
• Creative Planning: Large, nationally scaled RIA providing wealth management, tax, and estate services to HNW clients; broader in scope and geography than Highland, but operates in the same HNW advisory category.
• Mercer Advisors: National RIA focused on HNW households and retirees with integrated wealth management, tax, and estate services; comparable in target segment and service mix, with materially greater scale.

Direct peers

• Homrich Berg: Fee-only RIA headquartered in Atlanta serving HNW individuals and families with comprehensive wealth management; comparable size band and HNW focus, with a similar fee-only, integrated service model.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Independent, multi-family-office style RIA serving HNW families with comprehensive wealth advisory, estate, and tax services — directly comparable to Highland's integrated HNW advisory offering.
• Ronald Blue Trust: Faith-based RIA serving HNW clients with comprehensive wealth management and estate planning; comparable in scale and integrated advisory services, though differentiated by niche client segment.
• Carson Group: Large partnership-model RIA platform serving advisors and HNW clients with institutional resources, broadly comparable to Highland's Hightower-affiliated RIA model and growth-via-affiliation strategy.
• Aspiriant: Mid-sized independent RIA serving HNW individuals and families with fee-only wealth advisory and tax services; comparable in size band and HNW concentration, with a similar fee-only positioning.
• Context Wealth Partners: RIA partnership platform that supports advisor firms with institutional scale, comparable in the partnership-supported RIA model that Highland enjoys via Hightower, though at a different growth stage.

Regional players

• Halbert Hargrove: Long-standing, fee-only RIA based in Southern California serving HNW families with integrated wealth advisory; comparable in culture and service scope but operates in a different regional market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/highlandprivate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles22 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Highland