Cerity Partners announced Wednesday that it will be joining forces with Philadelphia-based registered investment advisor Permit Capital Advisors, in the fourth merger Cerity has announced this year.
The move will add about $1.6 billion in client assets to Cerity’s top line and represents the fourth regional U.S. market into which the rapidly growing RIA from New York City is reaching in 2022.
"This partnership helps anchor Cerity Partners in the Philadelphia market,” said Claire O'Keefe, Cerity Partners’ head of corporate development. “We see this partnership as a terrific way to enhance the breadth of our firm’s services with talented partners and colleagues.”
Fourteenth on Barron’s 2021 Top 100 RIA Firms—up from 23rd in 2020—Cerity is among the fastest-growing wealth management firms in the nation.
Cerity Partners President and CEO Kurt Miscinski said he sees the merger with Permit as a complement to the firm’s existing expertise and capabilities. Both firms have a history of catering to ultra-high-net-worth clients, but Permit will bring alternative investing experience, as well as expertise in working with foundations and endowments, while it stands to benefit from Cerity’s suite of wealth management solutions ranging from investment management and estate planning to tax preparation and administration.
"The variety of unique skills and talent that Permit Capital Advisors brings to Cerity Partners is a valuable addition,” Miscinski said. “We look forward to collaborating with our new colleagues, who share our vision for how to serve clients.”
Noting the mutual benefits, Permit’s chief investment officer and co-CEO Adam Landau called the partnership “a perfect fit.”
"Our clients work with us because we are sophisticated, creative investors, particularly within the alternative investment space, which provides opportunities to enhance returns and mitigate risk in an ever-evolving investment landscape,” he said. "That experience, matched with the wide range of services that Cerity Partners offers, makes this partnership powerfully differentiated in our industry."
Landau and co-CEO Mimi Drake, who founded Permit with partner Kimberly Crowley, will serve as co-market leaders under the Cerity Partners name.
Noting the diversity of their clients’ needs and interests, Drake said, “In the end, having the additional resources of Cerity Partners enhances not only our solutions across these diverse financial needs, but also our ability to attract exceptional talent to better serve clients."
Founded in 2009, Cerity Partners currently claims client assets totaling $45 billion, with offices in New York, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Texas.