Aufman Associates Inc

Aufman Associates provides ongoing investment management and comprehensive financial planning to individuals, trusts, estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, small businesses, and charitable organizations, and also offers services such as balance-sheet and asset management, income tax coordination, employee benefit program advice, retirement and estate planning, education planning, and family office services. The firm accepts discretionary portfolio management and, in some cases, performs bill‑paying and trustee-like roles as part of its financial-management offerings.

The firm follows a long-term, fundamental investment approach that blends actively and passively managed equity and fixed‑income managers to build diversified portfolios tailored to each client’s risk tolerance, cash‑flow needs, and tax circumstances. Manager selection emphasizes reasonable expenses, multi‑year performance records, lower turnover, and concentrated best‑ideas orientation; accounts are monitored daily with systematic quarterly reviews and pro‑rata trade allocation when orders are aggregated.

What distinguishes Aufman Associates from many peers is its scale relative to its advisory staff: the brochure reports approximately $972 million in discretionary AUM managed by a small senior team, indicating a higher AUM per advisor than is typical for similar firms. The firm’s acceptance of complex operational roles—such as acting under standing letters of authorization, providing bill‑paying services, or serving as trustee (with associated surprise audits when deemed to have custody)—along with its work on employee benefit programs and family‑office matters, suggests capacity to handle institutional‑style and nonstandard client arrangements in addition to individual wealth management.