Many of us have survival stories that often define the “before and after” moments in our lives. On Dec. 21, 2019, Adam experienced one of these moments when he was brutally attacked by a 15-foot, 2,500 lb. Great White Shark while surfing on his boat 30 miles offshore Santa Barbara out at the Channel Islands. The story made international news and Adam has since utilized the public’s interest in his story to bring awareness to issues such as PTSD, Shark Research, and other ocean charities. The shark attack also helped him to realize, on a first-hand basis, the importance of helping his clients prepare for any and all unforeseen events, including ‘loss of life”.

Adam J. Coons is the Founder & Managing Principal of Outwing Private Wealth Management. He began his career at Smith Barney in 2003 as an Investment Analyst on a Private Wealth team. During the 2008 Great Financial Crises, the team made a move to Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, seeking further stability for their clients. There he received world class training from Merrill’s industry-leading Financial Advisor Rookie Training Program. His creative and holistic approach to solving complex financial issues for wealthy families led to BAML featuring him in a case study, “Rookie Success Story”, sent to the firm’s 20,000 advisors overseeing $2.5 Trillion in client assets, as a guide for how to best serve the newly merged firms’ clients.

In 2012, Adam took the opportunity to join UBS Wealth Management in partnership with an Institutional trading team, where he developed his niche focusing on wealth creating entrepreneurs, corporate executives, private equity/venture capital professionals, and large R.E. families. He also sourced and participated in several investment banking transactions (both M&A and IPO), and developed a deep understanding of sophisticated pre-and-post liquidity event tax and estate planning strategies for the company’s founders and C-Suite.

Eventually becoming disillusioned with the large bank/brokerage firms and their associated conflicts of interest, Adam and his clients made the leap to independence on July 5th, 2016 (which he endearingly refers to as his “Independence Day”). He joined a boutique RIA and focused on providing his clients with access to not widely known, niche investment managers, providing his clients with non-correlated and consistent returns, often focused on high-income producing strategies secured by real assets in order to mitigate risk.

Looking to expand their focus on Alternative Investments to include a broader offering of services for their clients, in early 2020 Adam and his team left the RIA and partnered with longtime colleagues at Axxcess Wealth to support the launch of his own firm, Outwing Private Wealth Management. The new firm is designed to continue to provide access to selective, not widely known, investment managers, but also to re-focus on advanced tax, estate and financial planning strategies.

Outwing was thus spawned out of the depths of the Global Coronavirus Pandemic, and the teams’ unique approach to managing money has successfully shepherded their clients clients through the extreme volatility of the markets, all while providing cutting-edge technology solutions to help simplify their complex balance sheets. The firm has strived to develop the most innovative technology stack in the industry in order to help their clients simplify their financial lives via cutting edge consolidated reporting and planning tools.

Originally from Long Island, New York, Adam turned down an academic scholarship to N.Y.U., ultimately deciding to attend the University of California Santa Barbara. He graduated from U.C.S.B. with dual Bachelor’s degrees in Business Economics and Psychology, as a member of the Dean’s List. He led UCSB’s 12-time National Championship surf team to one of those championships as their co-Captain (hint: NYU was not a rival team).

Adam splits his time between Montecito, CA and Long Island, NY. He is actively involved in several charities, serving as an Advisor to the Fish Reef Project, focused on cutting-edge artificial reefs. Adam also donates time and money to the Marine Conservation Science Institute, Hospice of Santa Barbara, United Boys & Girls Clubs, and is an active volunteer with several causes that focus on Mental Health, including Addiction Recovery.