Meet the founder
Ara Oghoorian,
CPA, CFA, CFP®.
CPA · Licensed in California
CFA · Chartered Financial Analyst
CFA · Chartered Financial Analyst
Founder of ACap Advisors & Accountants and former officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The only person on the West Coast running a single firm where the CPA and the CFA share the same client file.
As seen in Forbes
President · ACap
Lead Advisor
CPA
Licensed in California
CFA
Chartered Financial Analyst
CFP®
Fiduciary Planning Standard
15+ Years
Integrated Advisory
Est. 2009
Founded ACap
Career at a glance
Why I built a firm where
the tax team and the
investment team work in the same room.
Most of my early career was spent watching the same problem from different angles. At the Federal Reserve, I saw how policy ripples through markets. In private wealth, I saw how those same markets ripple through ordinary lives — but with a strange disconnect: the person managing your money rarely talked to the person filing your taxes, and the two often pulled in opposite directions.
I’d watch a client take a beautifully-executed Roth conversion strategy from their advisor, hand it to a CPA who hadn’t been in the meeting, and lose half the value to a missed estimate or a misclassified entity. The math was right. The execution wasn’t, because the team wasn’t a team.
“You can’t separate the math from the life it belongs to. And you can’t separate the tax return from the strategy that wrote it.”
ACap was built around a simple, almost stubborn idea: put the CFA and the CPA at the same table, give them the same view of the family, and make them accountable to the same outcome. No referrals. No “let me check with your other advisor.” One firm, one plan, one signature.
Fifteen years later, that’s still how we run it. Our wealth team and tax team meet weekly, share the same client files, and sign off jointly on every multi-year plan we publish. It’s not a marketing claim — it’s why people who can afford to leave us, don’t.
If you’ve ever watched a great strategy lose money in the handoff between two professionals, you already understand why we do it this way.
Operating principles
Three commitments
I make to every
family we serve.
Not aspirations. Operating rules. Every member of the firm — junior analyst to senior partner — is held to these three. They’re written into our engagement letter and reviewed annually with each household.
01
Fiduciary, full stop.
No commissions. No referral fees. Every member of the firm is your senior partner. We get paid one way — by you — and our advice changes only when your facts change, never when an incentive does.
02
Show your math.
Every recommendation comes with the spreadsheet. We share the projection, the assumptions, the IRR, and the marginal-rate logic — so you can stress-test our thinking, not just trust it. If we can’t justify a recommendation in writing, we don’t make it.
03
The handoff is the strategy.
The plan only counts when it gets executed cleanly across tax, investment, and estate. We don’t claim a win until the return is filed, the trade is settled, and the trust is funded. The handoff between disciplines is the work — not an afterthought.
Career
Three decades,
one thesis.
From bank supervisor at the Federal Reserve to founder of an integrated tax-and-wealth firm — the same thesis under every role: the math is only worth the execution it gets.
2009
Founder & President
Earned CFP®
ACap Advisors & Accountants
Built the firm to integrate fiduciary investment management with in-house CPA-led tax strategy. CPA license obtained in 2011 to bring tax fully in-house.
2006
Senior Wealth Advisor
Earned CFa
Smith Barney / Morgan Stanley
Managed $400M+ across 60 family relationships before leaving to build an independent firm. Completed all three CFA levels while running a full book.
2000
Officer, Banking Supervision
Federal Reserve Bank of SF
Six years inside the regulator — examining capital adequacy, risk frameworks, and bank balance sheets at the institutions most clients eventually depend on.
1998
B.A. Economics
UC Santa Barbara
Followed by an MBA in Finance from George Washington University. The CPA license came later, in 2011, completing the three-credential foundation the firm runs on today.
Bylines & commentary
Where Ara has been quoted, cited, or asked to weigh in.
A short list of recent press, contributed pieces, and recurring columns. Publication logos used with permission — styled in publication colours where logo licensing is pending. Full archive available on request.
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Off the clock
What I do when
I’m not running spreadsheets.
Born in Beirut, raised in Los Angeles, fluent in three languages, and married to someone who reminds me — kindly but consistently — that not every dinner conversation needs a tax angle.
Three kids, a black lab, a stubborn vegetable garden, and a weekly poker game I’ve been losing money in since 2014. The losses, for the record, are not deductible.
Born
Beirut, Lebanon · raised in LA
Family
Wife & three children
Languages
English · Armenian · French
Reading right now
Where Are the Customers’ Yachts?
Mentor
UCLA Anderson Capital Markets
Confirm with client
Volunteer
Glendale Community Foundation
Confirm with client
The team
The people
behind your plan.
One firm, one client file. Every household is supported by a senior CPA, a senior planner, and a dedicated operations lead — and you’ll meet all three before you sign.
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Ara Oghoorian
I founded ACap Asset Management in 2009 with a distinct vision: to combine comprehensive wealth management and expert tax planning under one roof. With…
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Matthew Crisafulli
I work across both Wealth Management and Accounting, providing clients with holistic financial planning and tax strategies — bringing over 15 years of industry…
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Louiza Smith
I provide tax and wealth management advisory to help clients achieve their financial goals with confidence and clarity.
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Carina Oghoorian
VP of Marketing leading ACap's brand strategy, client messaging, and outreach — making sure the firm's voice stays clear and authentic.
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Ariel Hartounian
As Wealth Management Associate and Client Relationship Manager, I support our clients and help keep day-to-day operations running smoothly within the AUM department —…
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Arman Vartani
I help businesses process payroll, maintain compliance with payroll tax regulations, prepare quarterly and year-end filings, and support bookkeeping and payroll reporting needs. I…
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Fylisha Kruse
With over 7 years of hands-on experience in operations, I play a key role in keeping ACap's day-to-day functions running smoothly. I support everything…
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Jennifer Hogsett
I keep the day-to-day operations running smoothly and oversee billing management for the firm. Often the first voice clients hear when they call, I…
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Alondra Padilla
I assist in the preparation of personal and corporate tax returns and tax projections, as well as analyze financial statements to ensure accuracy. I…
You don’t hire a firm. You hire a person to be accountable.
Every ACap engagement is led by a partner — one who knows your tax situation as well as your investment portfolio.
