General Information
Founded in 2023, Canopy Partners LLC (“Canopy”) operates as a muti-family office and SEC registered
investment advisor (RIA) to families of generational wealth and complex financial circumstances. The
firm provides a variety of investment, financial, administrative, generational, and lifestyle services to
a select group of client members. The principal owners of Canopy are Charles Stutenroth, Christopher
Baucom, Justin Stone, and Scott Mahon.
SERVICES PROVIDED
Canopy Partners services are all designed and offered in concert with the firm’s belief in achieving
the three states of family wellbeing: financial prosperity, family harmony, and personal fulfillment.
• Financial Prosperity: Incorporates a family’s financial wealth, with focus on investment
activities and the designed use of credit for specific purposes. In this way, we are focusing
across the full family balance sheet, measuring success by the growth of a family’s net worth
• Family Harmony: Adopting the best practices of family governance, fostering trust and open
communication, and building on collective family strengths will create an environment to
preserve family wealth for generations
• Personal Fulfillment: Leveraging and contributing your personal strengths, passions, and
ideas to those of the family provide a direction for future leadership
Operating under a membership model, client selection is highly limited, and acceptance is only on
approval from Canopy. Generally, new clients are introduced on a referral basis from another family
client or other key firm relationship. “Goodness of fit” for both parties is a key determinant in client
selection. Canopy’s expertise is best suited for families having or likely to have in the immediate future
a net worth in excess of $30MM. These clients will exhibit the kinds of complex planning, investment
and generational needs that are best met by the professional team’s expertise, methods and resources.
Once accepted, each family engagement will be highly customized with services designed specifically
to meet the family’s requirements now and in the future.
The firm provides a wide variety of services across the investment, financial, administrative, lifestyle,
and generational planning areas to its family office clients. At the outset of each client relationship,
Canopy spends considerable time with the client, asking questions, and discussing among many
things, the client’s current financial circumstances, intentions for the future, family member
involvement, seeking to understand the overall family structure, their goals and intentions. This
consultative process allows Canopy to assess the current family circumstance and consider the steps
and services needed to shift to a new improved, future state.
As of December 31, 2023, we managed $573,372,977 on a discretionary basis and $23,381,827 on
a non-discretionary basis, for total assets under management of $596,754,804.
Wealth Strategy:
The Canopy Wealth strategy combines expertise in the legal, estate, charitable, generational
transfer, and financial planning areas necessary for families of substantial wealth to prosper. The
aim of our consultative wealth strategy process is to develop two initial deliverables:
1. Family Enterprise Map - 1. A graphic document illustrating the entirety of their current
fiduciary, tax/estate, service provider, assets/liabilities and the interrelationship of all
therein. It is a picture of the family’s total wealth.
2. Family Enterprise Map – 2. This map takes into consideration the discussions held during the
consultation process incorporating the ideas, observations and recommendations needed to
achieve a more successful, intentional future.
The new Enterprise Map-2 is presented and discussed with the client leading to the specific tasks,
activities, and services that Canopy may provide to the client. This process further reveals:
• The purpose of any trusts, entities, or other accounts and the related investment policy
including each account’s risk tolerance and performance goals
• Tax, Estate, Charitable, Insurance or other sophisticated planning needs of the family
• Credit facilities, debts, and the general structure of daily banking and money movement
• The reporting environments for investments and general financial statement preparation
• Other advisors involved across the investment, legal, and tax domains
• Digital and electronic processes and security protocols
• Steps taken for the perpetuation of family wealth, any stewardship practices, and activities
focused on rising generation leadership
This work will inform the Canopy investment team as they develop an Investment Policy Statement(s)
that outlines the investment strategy, asset allocation, and types of investments Canopy will make or
recommend on behalf of the client to meet those goals. The Enterprise Map and the Investment Policy
are discussed regularly with each client should modifications be necessary or recommended.
Primary and Rising Generation Financial Planning
Canopy provides a wide range of financial planning for the primary generation and also a more
specific set of planning items for the rising generation. These planning services will be tailored to
the specific needs of each client. Engagements may include advice that addresses areas such as
estate planning, risk management, budgeting and cash flow, philanthropic initiatives, generational
transfer of wealth, and business ownership. Depending on the situation, the process often follows
the below path:
• Gathering factual information concerning the client’s personal and financial situation;
• Gathering or developing initial estate planning documents: Wills, Power of Attorney, Living
Will and Health Care Power of Attorney
• Assisting the client in establishing financial goals and objectives;
• Analyzing the client’s present situation and anticipated future activities in light of the client’s
financial goals and objectives and overall family circumstances
• Identifying problems foreseen in the accomplishment of these financial goals and objectives
and offering alternative solutions
• Making recommendations and designing solutions
• Informing the investment team of any goals so they might design customized portfolios and
investment solutions for the client.
Generational Success
An important aspect of managing wealth is coordination and communication among and between
family members. Perpetuating wealth over generations requires a strong approach to the technical
aspects of planning and investments, but also to the strategic areas of family goals, communication,
and the development of a shared vision for the future. Family-owned business interests, raising
children in an environment of wealth, and the inclusion of spouses or adopted children are all
common areas of challenge.
Canopy provides families with the technical financial information, the facts and figures, to enable
good planning and decision-making. We also counsel families around best practices, good governance
structures, may provide workshops
and education, and can assist with family retreats and facilitated
meetings designed to increase family harmony and create successful transition to the next generation.
Philanthropic Planning
Many families have shared or individual charitable interests. Canopy provides tools, methods,
and expertise surrounding all aspects of charitable giving, including:
• Leading the exploration of individual or family values, passions, and interests
• Charitable formation and the tax and planning aspects of charitable giving
• engaging the next generation in charitable giving
• Digital tools and methods to professionalize family charitable giving
CFO Services
Canopy will design a comprehensive reporting environment for each client. Our service in this area
includes detailed investment and performance reporting, full net worth measurement, and other
customized financial reports that may be user defined. We will provide clients with a unique family
digital portal and vault where all Canopy and family generated reports, statements, and documents
such as Trusts, Wills, and other critical planning items will be securely stored.
Member Services
It is frequent and customary for families to have independent pre-existing advisors (legal, tax, other)
that occupy important planning or service roles. Our team will aim to incorporate these advisors,
keeping them involved and aware of your circumstances. We will share the work being done in
Canopy ensuring that all advisors are working in alignment and with the latest facts and figures. With
client permission, we can also provide any advisor with digital access to specific reports and
integrations.
Canopy also has preferred relationships with independent third parties involved in areas of interest
to many of our clients. Aircraft ownership, Health & Wellness, Travel Services, and Professional
Coaching are some examples of areas where we can provide introduction and coordination of
services.
Investment Consulting and Management
Our investment consulting process begins with a dialog with the client, an assessment of current
circumstances, upcoming changes, and discussion of investment goals and tolerance. This
consultative process leads to the drafting of an investment policy statement (IPS). The IPS will
capture the client’s information, their goals, risk tolerance, any constraints or obstacles, and define
how Canopy will measure success. It is an evolving document, frequently consulted and updated as
necessary.
With a solid understanding in place, the Canopy investment team will begin to implement the IPS.
This will involve defining the purpose of the account, develop the investment strategy, and identify
the specific asset allocation goals. The team will further define and develop specific elements such as
the use of active and passive managers, SRI or Impact strategies, separate account managers (SMA)
and the inclusion of any private capital strategies.
While serving as the primary investment adviser for a client, Canopy will utilize its manager research
and due diligence capabilities to choose other investment specialists (each a “Manager”) to direct the
investments of various portions of the overall investment portfolio as appropriate. Having access to
various Managers offers a wide variety of manager styles, skills, and differentiated areas of expertise
leading to increased diversification and stronger risk management. Managing within the parameters
of the clients IPS, Canopy will select or recommend the Manager(s) it deems most appropriate for the
client. Factors that Canopy considers in recommending/selecting Managers generally includes but is
not limited to the client’s stated investment objective(s), management style, performance, risk level,
area of skill, financial strength, and pricing. The selected Manager(s) will generally be granted
discretionary trading authority for the relevant portions of the client’s portfolio. Canopy retains the
authority to terminate the Manager’s relationship or to add new Managers without specific client
consent. Fees paid to such Manager(s) are separate from and in addition to the fee assessed by
Canopy.
In any case, with respect to assets managed by a Manager, Canopy’s role will be to monitor the overall
financial situation of the client, to monitor the investment approach and performance of the
Manager(s), to make changes or rebalance, and to assist the client in understanding the investments
of the portfolio.
Canopy will direct the management of the client’s investment portfolio on a discretionary basis. As a
discretionary investment adviser, Canopy will have the authority to supervise and direct the portfolio
without prior consultation with the client. We also offer non-discretionary services for situations
where the client has pre-existing assets or investments that fall outside of our research and due
diligence. In such cases, we will integrate these investments into our overall IPS, incorporate them
into our reporting environment, monitor their progress, provide tax oversight strategy, and consult
with the client offering our advise and opinion.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, clients may impose certain written restrictions on Canopy in the
management of their investment portfolios, such as prohibiting the inclusion of certain types of
investments in an investment portfolio or prohibiting the sale of certain investments held in the
account at the commencement of the relationship. One should note, however, that restrictions
imposed by a client may adversely affect the composition and performance of the client’s investment
portfolio. Each client should also note that his or her investment portfolio is treated individually by
considering each purchase or sale for the client’s account. For these and other reasons, performance
of client investment portfolios within the same investment objectives, goals and/or risk tolerance
may differ, and clients should not expect that the composition or performance of their investment
portfolios would necessarily be consistent with similar clients of Canopy.
Client Communications and Delivery of Documents
Where appropriate, Canopy may combine the delivery of client statements and other client
correspondence and information for accounts that have a common address (householding). Client
may revoke client’s consent at any time by contacting Canopy in writing. In addition, from time to
time, Canopy may be required to deliver certain documents to the client. Client, to the extent that
client has email capability and/or web access, hereby consents to the Canopy’s use of electronic
means, such as email or online portal, to make delivery of required and other documents. This
delivery may include notification of the availability of such document(s) on a website, and client
agrees that such notification will constitute “delivery.” In conjunction with the investment advisory
agreement, the client agrees to provide Canopy with the client’s email address and to keep this
information current at all times by promptly notifying Canopy of any change in email address.