Summer unofficially ended Tuesday in the registered investment advisor deal space, with numerous multi-billion dollar deals peppering the short work week.
The deal frenzy kicked off with CI Financial’s Miami-based Corient announcing a deal for two U.K.-based firms that, once closed, will see it nearly double the RIA’s client assets to $430 billion. The firm, which is owned by asset manager Mubadala Capital, showed its deep pockets with another deal Thursday for Boston-based Breed’s Hill Capital, a multi-family office with about $3.5 billion in assets under management.
Not to be outdone, U.S.-mega RIA Mercer, which has about $81 billion in assets, announced deals for one firm with a footprint in Idaho and California and another tax-focused business in Central Oregon. Combined assets are $850 million.
As the week went on, Savant Wealth, New England Private Wealth Advisors and Apella Wealth all dealt for firms of over $1 billion in assets. And in what may have been the most talked-about move of the week, private equity firm Madison Dearborn bought back the wealth management division it had been a part-owner of back in 2023 with HPS Investment Partners when it agreed to sell NFP to global insurer Aon. The new $560 million asset entity, which includes Wealthspire Advisors, Fiducient Advisors and Newport Private Wealth, will now be led by Wealthspire CEO Mike LaMena.
If that doesn’t seem like enough to get the RIA market off the beach, don’t worry. Below are more moves announced after Labor Day.
J.P. Morgan Wealth Management Duo Leaves to Join Mariner’s Independent Channel
Former wirehouse advisors Kyle Briggs and Joseph Thomason left J.P. Morgan Wealth Management to join Mariner Independent, the Overland Park, Kan.-based mega-RIA’s independent channel.
Briggs and Thomason had been with J.P. Morgan a little over two years after time at First Republic Private Wealth Management and Merrill Lynch, according to their LinkedIn profiles. They will now run Promontory Wealth, based in Los Angeles, on the Mariner channel with a focus on high-net-worth individuals and families.
“Our decision to go independent was about gaining the flexibility to deepen client relationships and build a firm that reflects our values,” Thomason said.
Mariner Independent now oversees approximately $40 billion in assets under advisement. The division is led by Rob Sandrew and Verne Marble, whom Mariner hired earlier this year.
RIA Upstart Maridea Acquires Woman-Led Firm
Maridea Wealth Management, a Brooklyn-based registered investment advisor with private equity backing from 119th Street Capital and Pelican Capital, has added woman-run Heritage Financial Strategies based in Gilbert, Ariz.
Firm founder Shanna Reed left her affiliation with Cambridge Investment to make the move. She will bring roughly 200 households with her, as well as advisor Alden Rowe, who will also join Maridea.
“The deep bench of talent and entrepreneurs at Maridea will help us grow, and I’m excited for what this partnership means for our clients and for Alden and me personally,” Reed said in a statement.
This will be Meridea’s first greater Phoenix-based office. The firm, which was founded in 2023, has a team of over 30 people.
Osaic’s CW Advisors Acquires Two Pennsylvania Firms with Combined $575M in Assets
CW Advisors, the Boston-based RIA arm of broker/dealer Osaic, has acquired Pennsylvania-based firms Capital Management Services and CHB Investment Group, bringing on combined AUM of $575 million.
The deal is the first CWA has made since being acquired by Osaic in June as a fee-only advisor channel. With the agreement, the division has $14.5 billion in AUM with over 150 employees across 22 offices.
“Joining the CWA team brings access to a larger platform, allowing us to expand our offering to clients while continuing to provide exceptional client service,” CHB Managing Director Chris Brashier said in a statement.
Gladstone Group advised CHB on the transaction.
Creative Planning’s United Capital Snags $1.1B Wirehouse Team
United Capital Financial Advisors, which Creative Planning bought from Goldman Sachs in 2023, has made its first deal since the move.
United Capital, which Creative Planning has revived with a base in Irving, Texas, after it was bought and then sold by Goldman, returned to the M&A market with the acquisition of The Paul Group, an RIA focused on UHNW clients and managing $1.1 billion in client assets.
The four-person team left Morgan Stanley to make the move and will have offices in Los Angeles and New York. The group is led by Geoffrey Paul, who has been with Morgan Stanley for about nine years, according to BrokerCheck.
Echelon Partners advised The Paul Group in the transaction.
SpirePoint Snags $350M Morgan Stanley Duo to Open Palm Beach Gardens Office
SpirePoint Private Client, a Vero Beach, Fla.-based RIA, has increased its client assets to $1.5 billion by bringing on former Morgan Stanley financial advisors who had been managing $350 million in assets.
Advisors R. Jamie Marceaux and Robert Scarborough will open a new office for SpirePoint in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. According to BrokerCheck, Marceaux had been with Morgan Stanley since 2003, and Scarborough had been with the wirehouse since 2015 after working at Merrill Lynch.
They will be joined by operations manager Kim Orsi, who has been with Morgan Stanley for 17 years, and Amani Gaballa, a financial planner who has been at the wirehouse for a decade.
“Opening an office in Palm Beach Gardens allows us to serve more families and advisors in South Florida while staying true to our model of high-touch, relationship-driven service,” Trent Leyda, CEO of SpirePoint, said in a statement.
Wealth Enhancement Adds $150M Dempsey Investment
Serial acquirer Wealth Enhancement, which is based in Plymouth, Minn., announced the acquisition of RIA Dempsey Investment Management, which will establish Wealth Enhancement’s first office in Vermont.
The South Burlington RIA was founded in 1994 by Donald F. Dempsey, Jr., who now oversees over $150 million in client assets.
FP Transitions was the consultant on the transaction, which raises Wealth Enhancement’s client asset count to $118.4 billion. The firm is backed by private equity firms Onex Partners and TA Associates.
#Mariner #Indie #Arm #Maridea #Add #Advisors