Whit Batchelor sat down with the San Diego Business Journal to discuss Whittier Trust’s newest office.
Whittier Trust
Founded in 1989 by the Whittier Family, which includes Helen Woodward of the animal shelter fame and philanthropist Paul Whittier, the firm has signed a three-year sublease for about 7,000 square feet of space on the second floor of an office building at One Paseo. “It will be our first brick-and-mortar office in San Diego (county),” said Whit Batchelor, the Whittier Executive Vice President who heads the San Diego County office.
“We’re super excited about having a more visible local presence,” Batchelor said.
The firm also has offices in Menlo Park, Newport Beach, Pasadena, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Reno, and Seattle, according to its website.
Managing $25 billion in assets, Whittier Trust serves more than 600 families in 48 states, according to Batchelor, with about a dozen clients in San Diego County.
“They’re all some of the most affluent families in San Diego,” Batchelor said.
The firm is spending $400,000 to $500,000 on tenant improvements, most of which Batchelor said will be for redoing the lobby.
He said his goal is to add two to three new San Diego clients annually and gradually expand the San Diego office from its initial staff of six to seven professionals to about 30 over the next 10 years.
“We want to grow and partner with the right families in San Diego,” Batchelor said. “One thing our clients all have in common is that they have big balance sheets.”
Whittier Family History of Giving Back
“We think that San Diego is a fantastic market for our services,” Batchelor said, adding that they include everything from real estate investments to managing stock portfolios and charitable donations.
“For us, being part of the community means giving back to the community. A big part of what we do is facilitate our clients’ philanthropy,” said Batchelor, who lives in Point Loma.
Paul Whittier, who died in 1991, focused much of his philanthropy on such San Diego institutions as Scripps Memorial Hospitals, the San Diego Maritime Museum, the Zoological Society of San Diego, and the Aerospace Museum.
Whittier Trust traces its history back to the early 1900s when Max Whittier, a former Maine potato farmer, moved west and made his fortune in real estate and petroleum.
His company, Belridge Oil Company, was sold to Shell Oil in 1979 for $3.65 billion, which was a record at the time, according to the Whittier Trust website.
Featured in San Diego Business Journal. Author Ray Huard interviews Whit Batchelor, Executive Vice President, Client Advisor, San Diego Regional Manager.
For more information on the new office or to start a conversation with a Whittier Trust advisor today, visit our contact page.
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