Tamalpais Asset Management

What Tamalpais Asset Management does

Tamalpais Asset Management, LLC is a boutique, fee-based Registered Investment Advisor founded in 1994 and headquartered at 900 Larkspur Landing Circle, Suite 100, Larkspur, California, serving clients across Marin County and the broader San Francisco Bay Area. The firm is independently owned and operated under Managing Partner Michael Bristow, with a visible team of approximately six professionals covering investment advisory, options strategy, 401(k) advisory, operations, and marketing. It operates without venture or private equity backing and offers securities through Emerson Equity LLC (FINRA/SIPC).

Name

Tamalpais Asset Management

Legal name

Tamalpais Asset Management, LLC

Website

https://tamalpaisam.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tamalpais Asset Management is a fee-based boutique Registered Investment Advisor in Larkspur, California, serving high-net-worth individuals, business owners, and retirement plan sponsors with portfolio management, proprietary options strategies, commercial real estate access, and integrated wealth planning.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Larkspur

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Advisory Fees: Fee-based advisory services where TAM acts as a fiduciary. The firm is described as a 'fee-based, concierge advisory firm' providing personalized wealth management solutions. Revenue is generated through advisory fees rather than commission-based compensation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tamalpais Asset Management is a fee-based, boutique Registered Investment Advisor providing discretionary portfolio management, options-based risk hedging, estate planning, family office coordination, and 401(k) advisory for high-net-worth individuals, professionals with equity compensation, business owners, and employers. The firm combines investment management with adjacent wealth services—tax/risk mitigation, commercial real estate advisory, and retirement plan consulting—under a single fiduciary engagement.

Product overview

Tamalpais Asset Management is a fee-based, boutique wealth management advisory firm offering a comprehensive suite of integrated services. The core offering centers on Portfolio Management using actively managed, low-volatility portfolios enhanced by Options Strategies for hedging and upside capture, supplemented by Commercial Real Estate alternative investments. The firm provides complementary services including Estate Planning, Family Office Services, and Tax & Risk Mitigation Strategies, all delivered through a unified advisory relationship. Additionally, the firm offers TAM 401(k) Advisory Services for retirement plan sponsors and a Client Portal for account access. The product architecture functions as a unified platform-plus-modules approach where portfolio management serves as the core, with options strategies and alternative investments as integral components, while estate planning, tax services, and 401(k) advisory extend the offering breadth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Forward Deployed Venture CapitalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTAM partnered with Forward Deployed Venture Capital and Mark Scianna in their $20M Fund I Raise. Mark Scianna serves as an operator with experience at Forward Deployed VC, and the partnership supports TAM's venture capital investment offerings for clients.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Aspiriant: Aspiriant is a national fee-only RIA offering comprehensive wealth management, tax planning, and estate services to HNW individuals and families. Closely comparable to TAM in business model (boutique, fee-based fiduciary) and target client (HNW households), though Aspiriant operates at significantly greater scale across multiple U.S. offices.
• Signature Estate & Investment Advisors: SEIA is a boutique RIA providing wealth management, tax, estate planning, and 401(k) advisory to HNW clients and business owners. Highly comparable to TAM in service breadth, fee-based fiduciary structure, and HNW focus, with similar boutique scale across multiple regional offices.
• Ballentine Partners: Ballentine Partners is a wealth management and family office firm serving ultra-HNW families with integrated investment, tax, estate, and family governance services. Directly comparable to TAM's Total Wealth Management model, with a similar concierge, fee-based, relationship-driven approach.

Broad incumbents

• Mercer Advisors: Mercer Advisors is one of the largest national RIAs, built largely through acquisition of boutique wealth managers. Overlaps directly with TAM in HNW wealth management and 401(k) advisory services, but operates as a multi-billion-dollar platform with institutional-scale technology and back-office infrastructure.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Mariner Wealth Advisors is a national wealth management firm offering investment advisory, tax, estate, retirement plan, and family office services to HNW clients. Comparable service breadth to TAM, but at vastly greater scale following its consolidation strategy.
• Wealth Enhancement Group: Wealth Enhancement Group is a national independent wealth management platform serving HNW clients with financial planning, investment management, and tax services. Comparable HNW focus and fee-based RIA model to TAM, but operates as a scaled platform acquirer rather than a boutique.
• Cetera Financial Group: Cetera is a large network of independent financial advisory firms serving HNW and mass-affluent clients with wealth management and retirement plan services. Overlaps with TAM's 401(k) advisory and HNW wealth management offerings but operates at scale as an IBD/platform rather than a single boutique.
• Creative Planning: Creative Planning is one of the largest independent RIAs in the U.S., providing comprehensive wealth management, tax, estate, and retirement plan services to HNW clients. Overlaps with TAM across virtually all service lines, though at substantially greater scale and with institutional marketing reach.

Regional players

• Hokanson Capital Management: Hokanson Capital Management is a boutique RIA based in the San Francisco Bay Area serving HNW individuals and families with investment management and financial planning services. Directly comparable to TAM in size, regional footprint, fee-based model, and HNW focus.
• Brown Wealth Management: Brown Wealth Management is a boutique Bay Area RIA offering fee-based investment management, tax planning, and estate services to HNW clients. Highly comparable to TAM in geography, scale, client segment, and integrated service model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/tamalpaisam
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tamalpaisassetmanagement

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Tamalpais Asset Management