As your legal, asset, and business quarterback, at EsqWealth we are committed to your financial success through trustworthy and unbiased legal, life, and financial advice.
EsqWealth is led by Frank J. Johnson, who brings over 30 years of legal experience. He also holds the Certified Private Wealth Advisor® certification after completing Yale School of Management’s CPWA® curriculum and passing a four-hour stringent exam covering over 500 topics. The curriculum included the most advanced techniques to address the complex needs of high-net-worth clients with a minimum net worth of $5 million. This unique combination of legal acumen and financial training provides clients with a deeper level of planning sophistication and real-world judgment rarely found in traditional advisory firms.
In his own words, Mr. Johnson describes the firm’s unique experience and five reasons why EsqWealth’s financial planning approach stands apart from most financial advisors:
Fewer Clients
First, our goal is to have fewer clients so that we can properly allocate our available resources to deliver highly personalized and attentive service experiences. According to Cerulli Associates, the average financial advisor serves approximately 143 clients, and many large-firm advisors manage over 300 households. Barron’s has reported that its Top 1,200 Financial Advisors averaged more than 500 households per advisor. In contrast, EsqWealth intentionally limits its services to approximately 20 high-net-worth households, each with a minimum account size of $1,000,000 and a minimum net worth of $5,000,000.
This model allows us to build deeper relationships, tailor financial strategies more effectively, and proactively manage evolving client needs. Our commitment is simple: we will care more about our clients’ financial success—and be more personally invested in it—than anyone who is not a beneficiary of their estate.
Fiduciary Duty to All Clients
Second, through our affiliation with Johnson Fistel, our team includes attorneys. Unlike many in the financial industry, we approach our work with the legal understanding that we owe our clients a fiduciary duty in everything we do. In practical terms, this means we avoid conflicts, provide fully informed recommendations, and tailor every strategy with our clients’ best interests at the forefront.
Our fiduciary duty extends beyond acting in the client’s best interest; it encompasses what is often called “the four C’s” in the legal industry:
- Conflict Avoidance: We proactively avoid circumstances that would place our interests in opposition to our clients’ interests.
- Competence: We bring diligence, preparation, and depth to every recommendation and strategy.
- Communication: We believe transparency and clarity are essential, and we prioritize regular and thorough communication so that clients make informed decisions.
- Confidentiality: We safeguard our clients’ private information with the utmost care.
Conflict Avoidance
Third, we take the issue of conflicts of interest seriously because it is equally relevant in the financial services industry. Many financial professionals do not believe they owe their clients a fiduciary duty and many are compensated through product sales or commissions. Technically, broker-dealers sit on the other side of the table from their clients because they are paid to sell financial products—and that incentive can conflict with the client’s best interest.As an attorney and investment advisor, I’m on the same side of the transaction with my client. That’s why I decided not to pursue a “broker” license but instead became licensed as an investment “advisor” which aligns with my professional career, my belief system, and my fiduciary duties to my clients as a lawyer. To read more about the differences between brokers and advisors, see our article: Brokers vs. Advisors: Who’s Really on Your Side?
Securities Fraud Work
Fourth, I’ve been a lawyer for over 30 years, including nearly two decades focused on securities fraud litigation. My work has involved uncovering some of the most egregious financial frauds on Wall Street. As a trial lawyer, I’ve investigated fraudulent schemes, challenged unfair merger valuations, and held corporate insiders accountable for misconduct.
The success of my law firm turned on how effective and efficient we were in understanding the intricacies of the fraud and how creative we could be in formulating corporate governance reforms at some of the largest publicly traded companies in the world. As a result of our track record of success, my law firm has been retained by publicly traded companies, the founders of those companies, and U.S. Trustees in bankruptcy to pursue claims against wayward directors for insider trading, fraud, and breaching their fiduciary duties to the company. This litigation background has sharpened my ability to dissect financial statements, scrutinize SEC filings, and understand how governance failures and market risks impact investor outcomes.
Real-Life Experience
Fifth, our approach is rooted in real-life application, not just theory. We have used the same estate planning and entity structures we recommend to clients. For example, I’ve established a range of legal entities—including four LLCs, three S corporations, three trusts, and a limited partnership—to operate businesses and manage assets. These structures were designed to enhance tax efficiency, protect wealth, and support multigenerational legacy planning.
In addition, over the past 25 years, I’ve worked with more than a dozen advisors who managed a portion of my assets. These relationships not only helped my legal practice—when advisors had clients who needed counsel to address corporate fraud in their investments—but also gave me firsthand insight into a wide range of investment philosophies, helping me distill best practices and avoid common pitfalls. This cumulative experience shaped my vision for EsqWealth: an elite, disciplined, client-centered advisory firm grounded in sophisticated planning, practical insight, and an unwavering fiduciary duty.
