Mailroom to Merrill: Advisor Builds UHNW Family Office Practice

Jack Mullen is a managing director and private wealth advisor at Merrill who leads the CKWM Group. Over the past 11 years the team doubled its client base and tripled assets under management while focusing on ultrahigh-net-worth families.

The group uses a virtual family office model that brings together advisors, estate planning attorneys, certified public accountants and other specialists to address complex financial, legal and tax needs. Financial planning sits at the center of the team’s work and the practice focuses on preserving wealth across generations.

Mullen said, “We are in the stay-rich business, not the get-rich business.” The team often begins relationships after major liquidity events such as company sales and builds plans intended to withstand economic cycles and avoid tapping principal when possible.

Legacy work includes creating specialized trusts and estate structures. The group organizes family meetings where members discuss roles in family businesses, compensation expectations and how to prepare children to contribute to society without letting wealth blunt ambition. Mullen called those meetings a highlight of the work.

Client acquisition began with cold outreach to executives and people involved in mergers and liquidity events. Early clients produced repeat business and introductions; referrals and word of mouth now provide most new clients.

The CKWM Group has 14 professionals serving about 125 families. He noted the team maintains that ratio to preserve service levels and said the model would not scale to several hundred or a thousand families.

Mullen began his career in a mailroom and held roles at Morgan Stanley and UBS before joining Merrill. He said joining an established practice accelerated his path and advised younger advisors to identify a target market, learn from experienced colleagues and use multiple outreach methods.