Creative Planning Adds $1.3B San Jose-Based RIA

Creative Planning has hired another plus-$1 billion Silicon Valley area registered investment advisor as it looks to expand in the market.

Peter Grassi, managing partner of San Jose-based Grassi Investment Management, is joining Creative Planning with his four-person staff, including financial consultant Kenneth Cervantes.

Grassi, who co-founded the firm with his father, has helped build the business over more than two decades to $1.3 billion in assets across individuals, families, foundations and institutions, according to its most recent Form ADV. Through the deal, Grassi gains an equity stake in Creative Planning.

“We are excited about this as he and his team are in one of our strongest markets,” Creative Planning CEO Peter Mallouk said of the deal via email. “We continue to focus on expanding our presence in the region.”

It’s at least the second plus-$1 billion deal Mallouk has made in the region this year, announcing the acquisition of Monterey Private Wealth in April. Creative Planning also acquired a $290 million RIA near what is officially considered Silicon Valley with a February deal for Maxwell Wealth Strategies in Pleasanton, Calif.

Creative Planning, which is backed by minority investors TPG Capital and General Atlantic, has now penned seven deals this year, according to Fidelity Investments’ wealth management M&A tracker.

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According to LinkedIn, Grassi is a San Francisco native and attended the University of California, Berkeley. He started in investing as a vice president at Davis, Skaggs and Company and later became a senior vice president at Smith Barney and its predecessor firms.

Grassi worked alongside his father, also Peter, when he was at Davis, Skaggs and Company, and later started Grassi Investment with him, according to his father’s obituary. The elder Peter Grassi passed away in 2024 after working with clients for over 50 years.

“We pride ourselves on selecting our own stocks and bonds for the investment portfolios and design portfolios that are invested in companies that we see as undervalued,” the firm writes on its website. “We enjoy helping clients to establish goals for retirement and financial independence and working with clients to ensure success.”