Spear’s Review

John Russo tells Spear’s he fell into the family office advisory space by chance, after being asked to set up a family investment company for a billionaire. He subsequently served as CEO of a prominent family office, and is now is one of the leading advisers for UHNW families in the UK and abroad.

As a managing director at LS Private, the family office arm of law firm Lawrence Stephens, he provides advice on ‘everything other than portfolio investments’ including the structuring of family offices, coordinating advisers, managing governance risk and serving as an educator for the next generation of wealth holders.

‘Families have multiple private investments and issues spanning multiple jurisdictions; that’s where I become the central point of communication and coordination across those players,’ he says.

His clients tend to be first-generation wealth creators who come from the finance or business world, having made a large sum in a liquidity event. Russo works together with families, drawing on his legal knowledge and experience to guide them through tough legal and financial decisions.

Adviser Profile

John Russo is managing director of LS Private, the multi-family office built on the legal heritage of Lawrence Stephens. He advises UHNW families, entrepreneurs and principals on the governance, coordination and execution of complex private affairs across legal, financial, operational and reputational matters. John acts as a single point of accountability, helping families strengthen governance, supervise advisers, manage risk and deliver time-critical projects with discretion and pace. Previously, he ran a prominent UK single-family office overseeing more than £1 billion in global assets. He is a director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and trustee of The Diana Award.