# Gratus Capital

> Gratus Capital is the Atlanta wealth-management firm Hank McLarty founded in 2005 after concluding that large brokerage houses were better organized around products and production than the full financial lives of entrepreneurs. Its model combined portfolio management with planning, tax, trust-and-estate and business-exit expertise; by May 2024, Focus Financial said the firm represented about $3.8 billion in regulatory assets under management. Gratus then merged its advisory practice into The Colony Group, now Focus Partners, gaining a broader tax and family-office bench while extending the combined firm in the Southeast.

- **Founded:** 2005
- **Headquarters:** Atlanta, United States
- **Founders:** Hank McLarty (Founder and CEO)
- **Team size:** 50 employees in the firm's 2024 regulatory profile, including 26 in investment-advisory functions; LinkedIn listed the company in the 11-50 range.
- **Products:** Investment management, Comprehensive financial planning, Business-owner and liquidity-event planning, Tax, trust and estate coordination, Stand-alone financial planning
- **Notable:** Grew from more than $800 million in assets under management when joining Focus in 2014 to approximately $3.8 billion expected to transfer in the 2024 combination., Hank McLarty appeared on the Forbes Top Wealth Advisors list for six consecutive years from 2016 through 2021., Gratus announced a fifth consecutive Forbes Top 250 Wealth Advisors appearance in 2020, when McLarty ranked No. 51.

## Products & services

- **Investment management** — Personalized discretionary portfolios using stocks, bonds, fixed-income securities, mutual funds, ETFs, preferred stock, options and, where suitable, private investments.
- **Comprehensive financial planning** — Cash-flow analysis, retirement planning, risk review and a financial roadmap coordinated with a client's other professionals.
- **Business-owner and liquidity-event planning** — Pre-transaction guidance on sale structures, tax strategy, control transition and the conversion of concentrated business wealth into a long-term plan.
- **Tax, trust and estate coordination** — In-house and external specialists aligned around tax efficiency, estate documents, intergenerational transfers and charitable goals.
- **Stand-alone financial planning** — Fixed-fee planning without ongoing discretionary portfolio management.
- **Options Income Overlay** — An optional strategy carrying an additional strategy fee, as disclosed in the firm's 2024 client relationship summary.

## Achievements

- Grew from more than $800 million in assets under management when joining Focus in 2014 to approximately $3.8 billion expected to transfer in the 2024 combination.
- Hank McLarty appeared on the Forbes Top Wealth Advisors list for six consecutive years from 2016 through 2021.
- Gratus announced a fifth consecutive Forbes Top 250 Wealth Advisors appearance in 2020, when McLarty ranked No. 51.
- Forbes profiled the firm in 2019 at nearly $2 billion in assets and more than 600 clients.
- Built 13 advisory teams by 2022, allowing the firm to match business-sale structures and planning needs with relevant specialists.
- Completed two mergers between 2016 and 2018, according to Forbes, helping the firm approach $2 billion in assets.

## Latest updates

- **2024-05** — Gratus reported approximately $2.745 billion in regulatory AUM across 2,929 accounts in its stand-alone regulatory profile.
- **2024-07** — Focus announced that Gratus would join The Colony Group and was expected to add roughly $3.8 billion in regulatory AUM measured as of May 31.
- **2024-08** — The Gratus and Colony advisory practices merged on August 1, with Gratus client agreements assigned to the combined firm.
- **2024-12** — Gratus Capital's separate SEC adviser registration was recorded as terminated following the combination.
- **2026-08** — The former Gratus website directs visitors to Focus Partners, reflecting the completed brand and platform integration.

## Links

- Website: https://gratuscapital.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gratus-capital-management
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/GratusCapital
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdHAEIC48higTMHOemQU2FQ
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/GratusCapital/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gratus-capital
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Last updated: 2026-08-20