RIA aggregator Hightower agreed to buy Farr, Miller & Washington, a registered investment advisory firm based in Washington, D.C., and run by CEO, President and CNBC contributor Michael Farr.
Hightower will gain approximately $2 billion in assets under management and offices in Devon, Pa., and Naples, Fla., in addition to its D.C. office, helping push the firm to over $100 billion in assets under management.
Details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Farr owns 75% or more of the advisory firm, according to the latest ADV filing. Taylor McGowan, chief investment officer and portfolio manager; Michael Fox, chief financial officer and portfolio manager; and Susan Cantus, chief compliance officer, are minor shareholders, owning 5% or less, in the firm. Investment bank Colchester Partners advised Farr, Miller & Washington in the transaction.
Farr will have a broader role at Hightower as the firm's chief market strategist, according to the announcement, joining Chief Investment Strategist Stephanie Link, who joined Hightower in June 2020.
Out of the 25 years Farr, Miller & Washington has been in operation, Bob Oros, CEO and chairman of Hightower, said he’s known the firm for 15.
"We considered several firms, and chose to join Hightower because of the culture, supportive community and broad-based business services that will help us deliver a streamlined wealth management experience to our clients now and for decades to come," said Farr in a statement.
Farr, Miller & Washington is the second RIA Hightower acquired so far this year. In January, Hightower purchased Los Angeles–based Bel Air Investment Advisors, adding $8 billion in AUM.
Hightower has also spent the past 12 months beefing up its investments in independent broker/dealers such as Siller & Cohen, which managed $830 million in assets.