Canadian wealth and asset management firm CI Financial will be acquiring a majority interest in Stavis & Cohen Financial, a Houston-based RIA with about $570 million in assets.
The acquisition will boost CI’s total U.S. assets to about $13 billion, with total North American assets reaching about $59 billion. Stavis & Cohen is a woman-owned firm headed by CEO Deborah Stavis and CIO Eddie Cohen, the firm’s co-founders. Stavis said the partnership with CI would help the company as it moves into the “next phase” of its development.
“CI understands and shares our mission of helping families navigate the complexities of accumulating, preserving and distributing assets to achieve their goals through an in-depth planning approach,” Stavis said. “Their deep experience in both asset and wealth management complements our services, enhances the value we offer our clients, and supports our growth.”
The deal marks CI Financial’s 10th acquisition of a U.S. RIA since its first foray into the space with the acquisition of Phoenix-based Surevest Wealth Management last December.
In addition, this past August, CI acquired full ownership of Balasa Dinverno Foltz, an Itasca, Ill.-based registered investment advisor with about $4.5 billion in client assets, the firm’s largest RIA transaction to date. With the Stavis & Cohen deal, CI will hold interests in RIAs in California, Arizona, Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio and Massachusetts.
“We look forward to working with Stavis & Cohen to grow their business in Houston, a dynamic and attractive market for us,” CI Financial CEO Kurt MacAlpine said. “Their specialization in serving corporate executives in the oil and gas sector presents strategic synergies with our Western Canadian wealth management business, allowing us to seamlessly serve industry clients both north and south of the border.”
The RIA’s co-founders have a combined 75 years in the industry, including 24 years at the helm of wealth management firms. The team works with high-net-worth individuals and families, offering retirement and estate planning, as well as investment and risk management and business succession planning, and specializes in working with energy industry executives, as well as business owners and financially independent women.