One team.
Every dimension of your financial life.
Wealth management, tax strategy, financial planning, and business advisory, operating as one coordinated practice.
We serve business owners, executives, and multi-generational families with sophisticated financial lives who are tired of coordinating multiple disconnected advisors themselves. At Leelyn Smith, our Chief Family Office Strategist, Chief Investment Officer, wealth advisors, tax strategists, financial planners, and business advisors collaborate continuously on your behalf, so every recommendation reflects the complete picture of what you have built and where you are going.
We are built at intentional scale to deliver sophisticated, cross-functional expertise while maintaining the deep client relationships and true customization that define boutique service. This is the benefit of coordination, without the overhead of building your own family office.
Your team invests in understanding the complete story: your professional evolution, your family priorities, the transitions you are navigating, and the legacy you are building.
Coordinated across every dimension of your financial life
Wealth and Investment Management
- Investment management with in-house Chief Investment Officer
- Comprehensive financial planning
- Estate planning and wealth transfer
- Retirement and succession planning
- Risk management and insurance analysis
- Charitable giving and philanthropic strategy
Business and Financial Operations
- CFO services for business ventures
- Business consulting and entity setup
- Accounting and bookkeeping
- Cash flow management and budgeting
- Bill payment services*
Tax and Entity Strategy
- Year-round tax planning and coordination
- Multi-state tax preparation
- Business entity structure and optimization
- Trust and estate tax services
Family Coordination and Legacy
- Annual Family Board Meeting — multi-generational education and advisory
- Multi-generational wealth planning
- Legacy planning and values transfer
- Philanthropic planning
- Foundation administration*
- Trustee services*
- Coordination of professional advisors
*These services are provided through a third party.
What makes Leelyn Smith different
Integration that is operational, not organizational.
At Leelyn Smith, integration is structural. The partner accountable for your relationship and the partner responsible for your investment outcomes are in neighboring offices in the same building. Your tax strategist sits two doors down from your financial planner. This proximity is how we deliver guidance that accounts for your whole financial picture, not just the part that falls within one discipline.
Boutique by design.
We are intentionally sized to allow for genuine customization, dedicated service teams, and direct access to senior expertise. You work with the same advisors who know your full story and can adapt our approach to your unique circumstances, without the bureaucracy or standardized playbooks of larger institutions.
Fiduciary commitment, without exception.
We are legally bound to act in your best interest, always. We don’t take commissions or sell products, and there are no conflicts between what is best for our firm and what is best for your family. Our only incentive is your success.
The team behind the work
You will work with a dedicated group of senior professionals who collaborate daily on your behalf. Every engagement includes direct access to the expertise your situation requires.
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Drew Grider, CFA
President
Leads firm strategy and consults on the firm’s most complex client engagements.
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Kevin Prendergast, CFA®, CFP®
Partner
Leads wealth advisory relationships for business owners and executives navigating equity, liquidity, and succession complexity.
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Daniel G. Coman, JD/MBA, CPA
Chief Family Office Strategist*
Advises on the tax, legal, and strategic dimensions of estate planning, business transitions, asset protection, philanthropy, and multi-generational wealth strategies.
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Brian Dorn, AIF
Chief Investment Officer
Constructs and manages portfolio ethos in-house, with full visibility into each client’s tax picture and financial plan.
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Elizabeth Kittner, CPA, CGMA
Chief Financial Officer & Managing Direcctor
Oversees firm financial operations and supports the integration of accounting, tax, and advisory at an institutional level.
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Chris McManama
Chief Operating Officer
Ensures the operational infrastructure behind integrated service delivery runs seamlessly across every client relationship.
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MaKinzie Stack
Director, Client Services
Oversees the client experience team and ensures continuity, responsiveness, and coordination across all service lines.
*Although Mr. Coman is a licensed Attorney and a Registered Certified Public Accountant in the State of Illinois and has many years of professional experience, his role at Leelyn Smith is limited to non-legal consulting services with our clients. Leelyn Smith is not licensed to practice law and Mr. Coman’s services in his role at Leelyn Smith do not constitute legal advice or services. No attorney-client relationship is created as a result of Mr. Coman’s consulting services and no attorney-client privilege exists for information disclosed to Mr. Coman as part of his consulting services. When applicable, Mr. Coman can refer and/or coordinate with outside legal counsel. Mr. Coman is not registered to provide securities and/or investment advisor services.