Rich Americans Kept a Key Strategy for Lower Tax Bills This Year
The founder of Athena Capital Advisors, which works mostly with rich individuals and family offices, says she breathed a 'sigh of relief' after U.S. tax reforms.
When Lisette Cooper founded Athena Capital Advisors in 1993 to manage the funds of large institutions, the firm’s investment strategies addressed two core concerns: risk and return. In 2002, Cooper refocused Athena, which has $5.5 billion in assets under management, to handle mostly the wealth of individuals and family offices. Based in Lincoln, Mass., the firm has since had to consider another factor for clients: taxes. In an interview, Cooper discusses the opportunities this creates for active strategies, the impact of the U.S.’s new tax bill on the wealthy, and the difference she sees in how generations prefer to invest.
Devon Pendleton: Tell me a bit about how Athena started.