By any measure, the spring of 2002 was an inauspicious time to launch a wealth management company. The September 11 terrorist attacks were fresh in investors' minds. The Dow was plumbing five-year lows.

"People thought we were mad; it was an ugly time. There were a lot of sceptics," recalls G. Moffett Cochran of reaction to his launch of Silvercrest, an investment advisory and asset management firm offering family office services. "Others were concerned we would just build it to flip it."