Arax Investment Partners, a wealth management platform backed by private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners, has acquired another $1 billion registered investment advisor in a deal for Chesterfield, Mo.-based Summit Wealth Strategies.
Summit Wealth will join Arax Advisory Partners, an RIA platform model in which firms join Arax’s Form ADV but keep their branding. The platform prioritizes firms that offer planning and investment advice to high-net-worth families, individuals and institutions.
The deal is Arax’s third $1 billion or more-sized acquisition this year and its second in the Midwest. It follows its acquisition of Schechter Investment Advisors, based in the Detroit suburbs, earlier this year. In January, it acquired $1 billion RIA Cedrus Financial in Littleton, Co.
According to Echelon Partners’ second-quarter deal report, Arax and owner RedBird’s big game hunting for RIAs is part of an industry trend for larger deals. Through the first half of this year, the average asset size per deal was on pace to be the highest in three years, and 40.9% of announced deals involved sellers with at least $1 billion in assets.
Summit was founded in 2016 as an RIA after breaking away from AXA Advisors, now Equitable, according to regulatory filings. The firm is led by managing partners and senior financial consultants Michael Ott, Brent Spicuzza, and Pete Donovan and works with individuals, families and institutional clients.
According to the announcement, the 11-office firm chose to join Arax to achieve further scale “with expanded capabilities, resources and support.”
According to a July Form ADV, Arax Advisory Partners’ client assets have more than doubled this year to $7.3 billion.
Arax’s owner, RedBird, focuses on investments in sports and media, along with financial services.
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