Firm: Evercore Wealth Management
Name: Chris Zander
Location: New York, NY
Team Custodied Assets: $13.6 billion
Background: Chris Zander grew up in New York City, where he captained Columbia University’s baseball team before graduating with a degree in political science. He joined U.S. Trust Company after school and spent the next 15 years there as a wealth advisor, later running the firm’s family office group while earning his MBA in finance from Fordham at night.
In 2008, Zander and 10 colleagues broke away to co-found Evercore Wealth Management and Evercore Trust Company, in partnership with publicly traded investment bank Evercore. He initially served as chief wealth and fiduciary advisor before succeeding Jeff Maurer as CEO of both businesses in 2020. Today, Evercore Wealth Management has about 100 professionals across six offices serving roughly 775 client relationships.
Building Relationships: The firm works with a broad set of clients—entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and business owners—but has also built a strong niche advising financial professionals. “We have a lot of retired hedge fund managers, private equity partners, and former asset management executives,” says Zander. “They’re very discerning buyers of financial advice… Even if they have their own investment views, they want a successor and a support mechanism for their family.” Communication is central to Evercore’s approach. The firm publishes a quarterly journal, articles, and videos on everything from tax law changes to philanthropy, while also facilitating family meetings that increasingly take place over Zoom. “We encourage families to communicate about financial issues early,” Zander says. “It’s never too early to start, and if you avoid it, you’re only setting up bigger problems down the road.”
As a corporate trustee, Evercore often partners with families on governance questions: how to structure trusts, manage distributions, or make philanthropic decisions. “That’s especially important when wealth is moving from one generation to the next,” adds Zander.
Competitive Edge: Zander emphasizes Evercore’s ability to handle complexity. Each client relationship is staffed with two senior professionals: one investment specialist and one fiduciary planning expert. This dual-coverage model, he says, allows the team to navigate issues as varied as business succession, multigenerational wealth transfer, or structuring trusts in a way that provides tax efficiency without undermining the next generation’s incentives.
Being tied to Evercore’s investment bank also gives the wealth unit insight into what entrepreneurs and business owners face when selling companies. “Entrepreneurs spend 24/7 building a business plan for their company. We can step in and help them create a business plan for their personal financial life,” says Zander. Unlike many RIAs that only recently began building trust capabilities, Evercore embedded its trust company from the outset, positioning it for the massive wealth transfer expected in the coming decades.
Investment Strategy: The firm takes a comprehensive asset allocation approach, tailoring portfolios to each generation of a family. In-house strategies focus on U.S. large- and mid-cap equities as well as investment-grade bonds, which are designed to manage taxes and keep costs low. These are combined with passive strategies and carefully selected third-party managers. Alternatives also play a role in client portfolios, with allocations to private credit, real estate, and secondaries. Recently, the team has been directing new money into middle-market private equity, where tighter fundraising conditions and a gradually improving M&A environment may create opportunities. Diversification, Zander stresses, is key: “Nobody can predict the future. It’s important to be positioned to do well, but also to sustain through market drawdowns.”
Market Outlook: Zander is cautiously optimistic heading into 2026. “Valuations across most asset classes are high, but the economy is in solid shape,” he says. Low unemployment and strong capital spending, he adds, could support growth, though risks loom if that CapEx cycle slows. Expected Fed rate cuts, meanwhile, could provide a lift to M&A and private equity.
Best Advice: For clients, Zander often stresses the importance of family dialogue. “It’s important to share the values, the purpose, and the management of wealth,” he says. “Markets will come and go, but if you have that family communication in place, you can deal with whatever happens.” He also urges clients to look beyond investments alone. “Too many people focus just on market ideas—the real value comes from creating a business plan for your personal financial life.” For younger advisors, his advice is simple: “This is a marathon, not a sprint. If your clients know you are always giving advice solely in their best interests, your practice will thrive.”