Creating a wealth management company without taking every opportunity to maximize profits may seem oxymoronic these days but Harmon Kong has other ideas. In an industry centered on selling clients a lot of ancillary products, opening a firm centered on values sounds like a unique business model.
When Kong co-founded Irvine-based Apriem Advisors in 1998, he centered his company as a fiduciary and committed to treating clients like he’d want his family members treated. Drawing on his years in corporate wealth management, he knew what he did and didn’t want as he set out to build a firm rooted in integrity and a commitment to the client’s best interests.
Kong began his career in wealth management right out of college, joining corporate wealth management during a period of expansion in Orange County, California. As one of the original advisors in the region, he played a pivotal role in growing the company’s presence. Yet, after nearly a decade, he began to realize that his entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to objective advice were at odds with the corporate agenda.
“I asked a lot of questions,” he said. “‘Why are we doing this?’ ‘What’s the purpose?’ And I often found myself conflicted with corporate directives, such as selling a lot of ancillary products that people may or may not need. What led me to go independent was this idea of being a fiduciary, the idea that I could provide advice that was objective.”
The Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPD) defines a fiduciary as “someone who manages money or property for someone else. When you’re named a fiduciary and accept the role, you must – by law – manage the person’s money and property for their benefit, not yours.”
As he felt increasingly disconnected from the path he was on, Kong’s introspection led to embracing the fiduciary model, prioritizing clients’ best interests over sales-driven goals. His guiding principle was simple: “Would I recommend this to my parents?” This simple question became the foundation of Apriem Advisors, a firm dedicated to treating clients like family.
“I had been married for a few years and we had our second child on the way,” he says. “I wanted to be more proactive in my relationship with client but I also knew I could only handle so many. I had this idea of, ‘If I just worked with 10% of the clients I used to work with, my life would be much simpler. I could do more for them and be objective. That was really the vision.”
Starting Apriem was not without challenges as Kong transitioned from practitioner to business owner, learning the intricacies of HR, payroll, finding the right people and everything else a new business owner must learn. He hired people who shared his values, many of whom came from large firms and understood the importance of personalized service. Today, Apriem has a team of 18 of varying areas of expertise, all committed to the firm’s core value of family and doing what’s best for their clients.
Kong’s leadership style emphasizes work-life balance and employee well-being.
“I told my team all along, ‘We’re not building this company on the backs of your families,’” he says. “I want to make sure our employees are treated and respected well. I will tell my employees’ spouses to contact me directly if their spouse is at the office too long because I'll send him or her home. That's not who we are. We want you to be successful at home and professionally, and that's what I wanted for myself, and I just can create a corporate culture that does that too, and I guess I have, because we're still here.”
Apriem’s services go beyond traditional wealth management. The firm offers comprehensive financial planning, including risk management, tax strategy, estate planning, and retirement guidance. Kong is particularly passionate about serving underserved families, women clients, and multi-generational households. He believes in empowering clients through education and proactive engagement.
One of Apriem’s standout initiatives is its focus on women in finance. Recognizing that women often outlive men and may not have been involved in financial decisions, Kong appointed Rhonda Ducote as the firm’s president in 2016. Under her leadership, Apriem has developed programs to support and educate women clients, helping them feel confident and informed.
The firm also prioritizes multi-generational planning, helping clients prepare their children and grandchildren for financial stewardship – even extending their services to the adult children of clients, who don’t meet the minimum asset size as an individual, but the service helps solidify the family’s assets as a whole.
Last year, he published his first book, “Values Over Valuables: Daring to Live the Life Money Can’t Buy.” It emphasizes the concept of passing down meaningful principles rather than just financial assets, encouraging families to foster unity and avoid disputes by building a legacy based on shared beliefs and honest communication. It gives concrete advice for how families can work through financial discussions with practical activities that promote candid interaction.
The firm’s success has resulted in many offers of acquisition, but Kong doesn’t see that fitting with the values Apriem was founded on.
“I get many calls every week from bigger fiduciaries that want to buy us out, and they're always surprised when I say I'm really not interested,” he says. “I didn't start this to create a company to sell it. Because to me, it would be putting a price tag on people I care about. When we say we want to treat people like family, it translates to the work we provide in the advice we give. That’s also why I have my employees invest alongside our clients. It shows we believe our own advice.”
Apriem’s commitment to excellence has not gone unnoticed. InvestmentNews awarded the firm the 2025 Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Team of the Year, and Kong was named Advisor of the Year for the West Region, citing his contributions to the industry. It was recently named on the “25 Fastest Growing Private Businesses in Orange County” list by LA Times Studios and CNBC’s Top 100 Financial Advisory’s for 2025.
Looking ahead, Kong envisions a future where wealth management is seen as a noble profession. He advocates for greater inclusion of women, multi-generational engagement, and impact investing. “We want our clients to thrive financially and in life,” he says.
Kong’s journey with Apriem Advisors is more than a business success story – it’s a blueprint for building a firm that values people over profits, and legacy over transactions.
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