RIA Edge Podcast: Chris Erblich on TFO’s Response to Client Needs

May 13, 2025

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How can a firm truly put families first in wealth management?

Join host David Armstrong as he interviews Chris Erblich, co-founder of TFO Family Office Partners. Chris shares the origin story and evolution of TFO’s three distinct but interconnected entities: a full-service multifamily office in Phoenix, a wealth management firm in Ohio and a South Dakota-based public trust company. He explains how each was built in response to real client needs rather than a grand business plan.

It all started with a family office sparked by a gap in legal-client relationships, expanded into wealth management and ultimately the firm formed a trust company to address trustee challenges for ultra-high-net-worth families. Throughout the conversation, Chris emphasizes TFO’s purpose-driven mission: to help families, however and wherever they need it.

David and Chris discuss:

What prompted estate attorney Elbrich to first convince his law firm to back an in-house multi-family office, and why he and his partners eventually bought it outright.
How an opportunistic meeting with a Genspring advisor looking for a new home led him to build a separate MFO in Phoenix.
The firm’s approach to client services, tax preparation and estate planning.
Building an in-house South Dakota Trust company that was, at first, seen as an accommodation, but soon became a profitable business service highly valued by clients.
Elbrich’s mission statement and the one question that helps him decide where to focus his efforts growing the business.
Future growth plans, and how he feels about mergers and acquisitions in the RIA space.

Resources:

Listen to the RIA Edge Podcast on WealthManagement.com
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Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Spotify

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Chris Erblich:

About Our Guest:

Chris is a nationally recognized estate planning attorney, business owner, and speaker focusing on helping individuals and families connect their wealth and purpose. His clients are those who have truly lived the American dream, and Chris values the opportunity to work with and learn from them. In addition to Chris’ role as Partner at Husch Blackwell, Chris is the CEO and Chairman of TFO Family Office Partners (based in Phoenix, Arizona), CEO of TFO Wealth Partners (based in Maumee, Ohio), and President and Director of TFO Trust Company (based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota). Chris also has multiple real estate investments. It is this experience that enables him to understand firsthand the challenges and complexities of managing both companies and properties, and he readily identifies with clients’ goals and desires for their own businesses. In addition to the services he provides to clients, Chris is a highly sought-after speaker in the world of high-net-worth estate planning and has delivered more than 200 presentations nationwide to attorneys, accountants, financial service professionals, and business owners.