Harris myCFO is the American

wealth management Wealth management (WM) or wealth management advisory (WMA) is an investment advisory service that provides financial management and wealth advisory services to a wide array of clients ranging from affluent to high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-hi ...

unit of BMO Harris Bank serving

high-net-worth individual In the financial services industry, a high-net-worth individual (HNWI) is a person who maintains liquid assets at or above a certain threshold. Typically the criterion is that the person's financial assets (excluding their primary residence) are ...

s and families. In 2002, Harris acquired certain assets of myCFO, Inc., founded by James H. Clark, in a $30 million deal. Harris myCFO provides a variety of services including investment advisory and

family office A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with at least $50–100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer ...

services. Harris myCFO managed over $18 billion in assets in 2011 and ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' ranked the company seventh on a list of top fee-only investment advisors.

Services

Harris myCFO

Harris myCFO is a brand used by Harris myCFO Inc. offering integrated wealth management with independent investment advisory services and the comprehensive capabilities of a multi-family office. These services include investment advisory,

tax planning Tax avoidance is the legal usage of the tax regime in a single territory to one's own advantage to reduce the amount of tax that is payable. A tax shelter is one type of tax avoidance, and tax havens are jurisdictions that facilitate reduced taxe ...

financial reporting Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity. Relevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to un ...

and expense management,

estate planning Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging for the management and disposal of a person's Estate (law), estate during the person's life in preparation for future incapacity or death. The planning includes the bequest of assets to ...

and trust services,

risk management Risk management is the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks, followed by the minimization, monitoring, and control of the impact or probability of those risks occurring. Risks can come from various sources (i.e, Threat (sec ...

and insurance advisory,

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

planning, family education, capital advisory, and custom banking. The president of Harris myCFO is Joe Calabrese, who has led the company since 2002.

Harris myCFO Investment Advisory Services LLC

Harris myCFO Investment Advisory Services LLC, is a

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

-registered investment advisor and certain divisions of Harris N.A. are national banks with trust powers. Harris myCFO Investment Advisory Services, LLC works with affluent clients by integrating their investment planning and financial services. Craig Rawlins is the president of Harris myCFO Investment Advisory Services LLC. Harris announced the hiring of Rawlins in December 2009; he previously worked as director of client services at Russell Investment Group and held positions at

Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...

and Gresham Partners.

Harris myCFO, Inc.

Harris myCFO, Inc. provides family office services. Family office services include financial planning and coordination, wealth transfer planning, tax planning, risk management and insurance, philanthropic planning, expense management, bill payment, family education, estate and trust services, liquidity strategies, and comprehensive financial reporting. John Benevides is a president of Harris myCFO Inc. overseeing Family Office Services for the company. Benevides' appointment was announced in October 2010; prior to his appointment at Harris myCFO, he was co-owner and President of Family Office Exchange (FOX).

Recognition

*Ranked 7th on ''

'', "Top 50 Financial Advisors" list (2011) *Ranked 9th on Bloomberg Markets’ "Top 50 Family Offices" list (2011) *Ranked 3rd on Forbes "Top 50 Fee-Only Advisers" list (2008)

Locations

Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

, California *

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois *

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington * New York, New York *

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, California *

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California

Criticism

In 2002 myCFO was implicated in a federal investigation involving questionable

tax shelter Tax shelters are any method of reducing taxable income resulting in a reduction of the payments to tax collecting entities, including state and federal governments. The methodology can vary depending on local and international tax laws. Types of ...

s. In July 2005, the

American Arbitration Association The American Arbitration Association (AAA) is an organization focused in the field of alternative dispute resolution, one of several arbitration organizations that administers arbitration proceedings. Structured as a non-profit, the AAA also admin ...

ruled against myCFO and its partners for its involvement. On February 13, 2008, a federal trial court delivered a

criminal conviction In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by ...

on Graham Taylor, a tax attorney associated with myCFO; Taylor had pleaded guilty on January 24, 2008, to conspiracy and aiding in the filing of a false tax return. Taylor used to be with the LeBoeuf law firm, which was used by myCFO selling tax shelter products. The tax accountants and attorneys, including Taylor, convicted in 2008, had been indicted in November 2005 for conspiring to

defraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

the United States and to commit

mail and wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. feder ...

, including

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

and assisting in the filing of false tax returns.

References

External links

Harris myCFO website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris Mycfo Bank of Montreal American companies established in 1999 myCFO Financial services companies of the United States Corporate scandals Companies based in California 1999 establishments in the United States 1999 establishments in California 2002 mergers and acquisitions