Nothing between you and your wealth.
Commons Capital is an independent, fiduciary wealth management firm in Needham, Massachusetts and New York City. Across everything wealth touches, for individuals, families, businesses and institutions, we sell nothing, hide nothing, and answer to no one but you.
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2026 America's Top Financial Advisory Firms
2026 FIVE Star Wealth Manager Award
- 2026 FIVE Star Wealth Manager Award
- 2026 America's Top Financial Advisory Firms
The family office was built to stay private. We made it a commons.
For a hundred years, the most complete way to manage wealth had a name: the family office. One team overseeing everything: your investments, taxes, estate, and philanthropy, all under one roof and answerable only to you. It was also the most exclusive service in the industry. To have it, you needed nine figures and a private staff to run it. Everyone else was sold a product.
We built Commons Capital to break that open. The name comes from the Boston Common. A commons is a shared resource, held in trust and stewarded for everyone, not fenced off for a few. That is the whole idea behind this firm: take the model reserved for the ultra-wealthy, and make it a commons.
Founded in 2009, and independent ever since.
The commons, in practice
ESTABLISHED INDEPENDENCE
Founded beside the Boston Common as a pure fiduciary. Free from institutional bias, we built our firm to serve exclusively as a true advocate for our clients.
DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES
Five dedicated advisors managing distinct disciplines. We intentionally limit our client-to-advisor ratio to ensure complex multi-generational wealth gets deep, daily attention.
TRUE FIDUCIARY CONVICTION
Zero proprietary products. Zero third-party remuneration. While others treat "fiduciary" as a marketing buzzword, we operate under a strict structural mandate to put your interests first.
One roof. Everything under it.
Investment management, financial planning, tax and estate coordination, and private banking and lending, handled by one team working from one strategy. Each service stands on its own. Together, they work the way a family office does: every decision made with the rest of your financial picture in view.
Explore Our ServicesWealth is never merely a number. It is the life you are intentionally crafting, the freedom you are securing, and the people you are building it all for.
It starts with understanding what you’re working toward. From there, we’ll help you develop a deeper understanding of your financial landscape and the craft of building wealth, learning alongside you as it changes. We’d be honored to be your partner every step of the way.
Meet Our TeamJonathan D. Straus, CSNA
From first conversation to a plan built around you.
- 01
Introduction
A conversation about where you are and what prompted you to reach out. No obligation.
Request an Introduction - 02
Discovery
We learn the full picture: your goals, your family, and what you want your wealth to do. Together, we put an Investment Policy Statement in place to guide every decision that follows.
- 03
Analysis & Proposal
You share your statements, and we examine every holding, cost and tax position, then present a written proposal showing what we would change and why. Complimentary.
- 04
Onboarding & Stewardship
Once you become a client, we handle the transition: opening accounts, moving assets and putting your plan in motion. From there, your strategy is reviewed and refined continually as your life, the tax code and the markets change.
Our latest thinking.
The Hidden Concentration in “Diversified” Portfolios: What This Week Showed About Owning the S&P 500
On Tuesday afternoon, three stocks moved enough to pull the entire S&P 500 down 1.4 percent in a single session. Most investors holding “the market” through a passive index fund or ETF watched their balance dip and concluded, reasonably, that the market had a bad day.
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TIAA-CREF in Retirement: Income, Growth, and Legacy Without Spending Down Principal
For a retiring academic with TIAA-CREF, the decision usually arrives framed as a binary. Leave everything at TIAA and draw it down across retirement, the way most colleagues do. Or roll the whole balance out to an IRA and start over with a new advisor. Both options miss the better answer.
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Three Ways to Build a Child's Financial Foundation
Signed into law on July 4, 2025 as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Trump account (the new §530A account) is a tax-advantaged retirement account opened in a child's name. Any child under 18 with a Social Security number is eligible — there are no income limits on contributors and no earned-income requirement.
Read the InsightAnswers to common questions.
Through our relationship with Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, LLC, accounts with Commons Capital have FDIC, SIPC and a supplemental policy through Lloyd’s of London.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a U.S. government agency that insures cash deposits at FDIC member banks, generally up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category. For more information related to the FDIC, including coverage limits and rules, please visit fdic.gov.
The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) is a nonprofit organization that protects stocks, bonds, and other securities in case a brokerage firm goes bankrupt and assets are missing. The SIPC will cover up to $500,000 in securities, including a $250,000 limit for cash held in a brokerage account. Learn more about SIPC coverage at sipc.org.
Yes, Commons Capital is a Registered Investment Adviser. Our Form ADV is available to interested parties. For more information about Registered Investment Advisers and what you need to know before selecting one, please refer to the SEC's website.
Just as our client relationships are unique, so too are our parameters for starting a relationship with a client. Generally, the more complex the financial situation, the more need for assistance. Sometimes the level of complexity is directly correlated with wealth and other times it is not.
We evaluate each potential client relationship as it develops. We do not have a stated minimum relationship size, but clients with at least $500k of investable assets are usually able to take advantage of the majority and holistic nature of our services.
All of the Private Wealth Advisors at Commons Capital are fiduciaries and manage their clients' investments in a way that is aligned with the clients' best interests. They must follow certain rules and regulations. Some financial advisors can act in a fiduciary capacity, but be careful — this does not mean that all advisors are fiduciaries.
As a fee-based private wealth management firm, we do not have a stated fee schedule with minimums, maximums or breakpoints. Each client relationship is unique and is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Different services require different rationales for establishing fees.