At a Mountain Retreat, Employee-Owned Firms Met to Plot the Long Game

The group met at the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley from July 8 to 10, with an agenda headlined: “Employee Ownership Summit: Redefining Independence.” A welcome packet included a letter from Francais, a box of chocolates and a white baseball cap that read, “100% EO / Redefining Independence.”He ended up with 22 firms, all of which met the $3 billion asset threshold, were 100% employee-owned, and were fee-only fiduciaries serving individuals, not institutions. They hailed from 16 states, managing a total ...