History
Biltmore Family Office, LLC (“BFO”) is a collaborative family office formed in 2008 and registered as an
Investment Adviser to begin serving outside clients in 2013. We are committed to serving high-net worth
clients, families, and their related entities. We manage client assets primarily through internal investment
selection and portfolio management, allocations to third-party managers, and various private investment
funds.
As of December 31, 2023, BFO advises or consults on a total of $3,810,903,070. BFO manages
$2,599,628,285 on a discretionary basis, an additional $292,834,369 on a non-discretionary basis and
provides consulting services on the balance.
Ownership
The firm is primarily owned by its founder, Chris Cecil, as well as by its operating partners, Rael Gorelick,
Nicole Gokey and Michael Farrell. Chris Cecil’s ownership is held through CHAC, Inc., Rael Gorelick’s
ownership is held through RG Biltmore Holdings, Inc., Nicole Gokey’s ownership is held through Gokey
Consulting, Inc., and Mike Farrell’s ownership is held through Farrell 4 Consulting, LLC. Each of these entities
were formed for the sole purpose of holding their respective investment in BFO. These entities do not hold
any other investments. Please see Brochure Supplements, Exhibit A, for information regarding all our
partners and other individuals who formulate investment advice and have direct contact with clients or
have discretionary authority over client accounts.
Services Offered
We serve families with investible assets of $10 million or more, or a net worth more than $25 million. Our
largest client families have a net worth exceeding $1 billion. Our clients include families, individuals, single
family offices, and family related fiduciary or charitable entities. As clients of the firm and owners of multi-
generational wealth, our founders understand the complexities that accompany the blessings of family
wealth. We focus only on privately-owned family wealth and seek to minimize conflicts of interest
between ourselves and our clients. Our only source of revenue is fees paid to us by our clients. Our
founding families and partners are fee paying clients of the firm and are invested alongside our clients; we
believe our most important role in the firm is our role as a client.
To help other families navigate the challenges they face, we have developed a detailed process from many
years of experience in which we help oversee the family balance sheet, manage investments, analyze cash
flows, and advise on the often-complex planning vehicles and ownership structures. We do not use any
proprietary funds and have no investment products to sell. Our advice typically includes the formulation
of a family balance sheet, cash flow analysis, asset/liability management, investment management, estate
& tax planning review, insurance review, fiduciary administration, and family governance & education.
The following outlines our process at a high level:
1. Family Balance Sheet. Our process begins with the development of a family balance sheet, not
too dissimilar from the balance sheet many of our entrepreneurial clients and business sellers
used to create their wealth. Often through a liquidity event, the assets have become more liquid
and less concentrated, and in our view, the liabilities have changed dramatically as well. Our
clients must solve for their Lifestyle Needs, or cash flows to maintain their standard of living.
They must also solve for Generational Needs, which are longer term solutions to solve for the
needs of living family members for their lifetimes, while protecting principal. Finally, there are
Legacy Needs, which solve for the needs of future generations and longer-term charitable
demands. As these all have a claim on the family’s assets, we view Lifestyle, Generational, and
Legacy as key liabilities of the family balance sheet – each needing to be defined, prioritized,
planned, sized, and finally invested. Most importantly, the solution is not a goal, rather it is the
proper allocation and investment of the family assets to meet the demands of their Lifestyle,
Generational and Legacy needs. Using this framework, we develop cash flow requirements,
planning needs, and investment risk & return parameters for the family and for their current
generations as well as for those yet to come. Our unique family balance sheet framework is
documented and then used as the starting basis for all our investment, planning, governance,
and educational advice. The above framework with the definition, prioritization, and investing
around a very long-term family balance sheet is our definition of a Family Office. We further
define a Family Office as neither a product nor service; rather it is the family’s ability to invest,
plan, govern, give, and educate around well- defined, managed, and communicated balance
sheet for many generations to come.
2. Investment Policy Statement. Working from the family balance sheet, we formulate and create
customized investment policy statements for the accounts managed by our firm. Investment
Policy Statements are prepared in accordance with each client’s balance sheet as well as
investment objectives, taking into consideration risk tolerance, time horizon, tax issues, liquidity
and cash flow needs, restrictions/constraints, and other relevant guidelines. Investment Policy
Statements are created at the inception of our relationship and are then updated upon a
client’s request or whenever necessary to reflect a change in the client’s circumstances.
3. Asset Allocation. From the Investment Policy Statement, we work with our clients to create and
establish their asset allocation and make changes to this recommendation as deemed
appropriate. Our specialization is not in any one given asset class, but rather in the ongoing
process of assessing our clients’ objectives and developing an appropriate asset allocation to
help the client achieve their objectives for each broad allocation to Lifestyle, Generational, and
Legacy needs. Allocations within each are altered when tactical or secular risks and
opportunities are identified.
To this end, our client portfolios are diversified across a variety of
asset classes, which may include, without limitation, equity securities, fixed income securities,
limited partnerships, managed accounts, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, hedge funds,
commodity futures, options, private equity, venture capital and direct company investments as
well as other alternative investments consistent with a client’s risk tolerance and overall
objectives.
4. Investment Selection. As part of our asset allocation process, BFO assesses where it is most
appropriate to use active or passive investment strategies. We routinely review asset classes to
determine the post-fee return attributable to either an active or passive strategy with the goal of
achieving the highest risk-adjusted, post-fee return for our clients. Where appropriate, our
portfolio construction may include our direct management of exchange-traded funds, index
funds, mutual funds, or individual corporate securities. Our direct management of any
individual securities managed on behalf of any client is subject to the terms of the Investment
Policy Agreement. As our firm has no proprietary products, we also identify, research, select
and monitor investment products provided by outside advisors to manage a portion of our
client portfolios. A rigorous due diligence and evaluation process is used to evaluate other
advisors and funds, employing both quantitative and qualitative techniques to identify the
strategies we feel are best qualified to meet clients’ objectives. In most instances, BFO retains
the authority to add a new sub-advisor or to terminate a sub-advisor, while, in other instances,
the client will ultimately select the sub-advisors recommended by BFO. Sub-advisors will
generally have discretion to determine the type and amount of securities to be purchased or
sold for the client for that portion of the client’s assets managed by the sub-advisors. To the
extent clients are invested directly or indirectly in unaffiliated funds of selected sub-advisors,
the sub-advisor of such funds will have their own investment practices, and those independent
investment practices will be described in each manager’s disclosure documents and/or such
funds’ offering documents. The client understands that BFO makes no representation or assumes
investment due diligence responsibility for any allocation or performance of any sub-advisor
chosen exclusively by the client.
5. Ongoing Monitoring and Changes to Sub-Advisors. Where we have either selected or
recommended any sub-advisor with respect to assets managed by us, our role will be to
monitor the overall financial situation, the investment approach, and the performance of the
sub-advisor, and to assist the client in understanding the investments held in the portfolio.
When specifically requested by the client, we may assume ongoing monitoring responsibility
for any allocation or performance of any sub-advisor or individual security chosen exclusively
by the client.
6. Comprehensive Portfolio Reporting and Performance Evaluation. We provide each client a
periodic consolidated statement of those investments managed by our firm, by any sub-
advisors, and any other assets or liabilities provided to us where the client has instructed us to
report. Our reports to clients typically include asset allocation summaries as well as investment
performance calculated on either a time weighted, internal rate of return, or multiple of capital
basis. We rely on and receive reporting and pricing data from custodian brokers or banks, from
various sub-advisors and/or their administrators, and, occasionally, directly from clients.
Although we believe this information to be accurate and complete, we cannot guarantee its
accuracy or reliability. We, therefore, cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies contained
in our reports. We provide detailed reports to family members and their key service providers
when requested, such as attorney and accountants, on an ongoing basis as requested.
7. Wealth Planning. Our wealth planning process is centered on the priorities established by our
clients – for themselves, for their family and for their family’s family, now and for the years to
come. The tools we use help families prioritize their planning objectives to achieve a more
sustainable model for their current and future needs. We help our clients answer the questions
of how much is needed to meet their needs today through cash flow planning, income tax
planning, and administration of the various family legal entities. We also work to solve for what
families will need to provide for their family in the coming years through planning for major
life events, analyzing the family estate planning priorities and existing structures, integration
of family-owned businesses, financial literacy and education of the family and fiduciary
administration considerations. What is needed to establish a legacy for the family is addressed
through family governance, philanthropic planning, and family-owned business succession
planning.
Discretionary and Non-Discretionary Management
We typically manage the client’s investment portfolio on a discretionary basis and will have the authority
to supervise and direct the portfolio without specific prior approval by the client. However, in certain pre-
arranged circumstances, the portfolio may be managed under a non- discretionary arrangement where
the client must be contacted prior to BFO executing any trade in the account(s) under management or
allocating to any sub-advisors who may have discretion over the assets to which they are allocated. This may
result in a delay in executing recommended trades, which could adversely affect the performance of the
portfolio. This delay also normally means the affected account(s) will not be able to participate in block
trades, a practice designed to enhance the execution quality, timing and/or cost for all accounts included
in the block. In anon-discretionary arrangement, the client retains the responsibility for the final decision
on all actions taken (or not taken) with respect to the portfolio.