MAI Capital Management Buys $562M LWS Wealth Advisors
Cleveland-based MAI Capital Management, claiming almost $21 billion in assets under management, has picked up a New Jersey-based firm managing $562 million for clients.
A team of four in Basking Ridge, N.J., formerly LWS Wealth Advisors, has established the first MAI-branded location in the state and founder Lance Lipset has taken on the role of regional president. They offer tailored asset management and comprehensive financial planning services, as well as retirement plan consultation.
“Since starting our business in 2012, we’ve had a singular focus on being a comprehensive partner to our clients,” Lipset said in a statement. “As LWS continues to grow, our decision to join MAI—an organization that shares our values—allows our team to double down on bespoke client service, tap into MAI’s backend capabilities, and expand our offerings in areas such as alternative investments.”
The deal, which closed on March 1, represents MAI’s fourth acquisition of 2024 and 36th since stepping into the M&A arena in the summer of 2019. Majority owned by Galway Holdings since 2021, MAI currently oversees some $20.8 billion for more than 7,500 individual and 200 institutional clients from offices in 13 states.
Beacon Pointe Buys First Mid-Atlantic Firm, Adding $560M AUM
Beacon Pointe Advisors, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based RIA overseeing more than $30 billion in assets, has completed its first M&A transaction in the Mid-Atlantic region with the acquisition of Keeney Financial Group in Columbia, Md.
The 10-person team, led by KFG president and founder John Keeney, includes five advisors and four operational and client service professional staff members providing “personalized financial planning and investment management services to individuals, families, trusts, charitable organizations and foundations, pensions and corporations” with approximately $560 million in managed assets.
“Our focus for the past 25 years has been delivering innovative solutions in a concierge service model,” Keeney said in a statement. “We are excited for what [Beacon Pointe’s] scale and quality depth of bench will bring to the client experience on every front, including planning, investing, and communication.”
"The Keeney Financial team gives us a strategic presence between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metro areas in a very attractive and affluent locale,” added Beacon Pointe President Matt Cooper.
Backed by private equity firm KKR, Beacon Pointe acquired its first wirehouse breakaway team in late 2023, signaling an evolution of strategy Cooper said became possible with growing awareness of the RIA channel.
Founded in March 2002 with no offices or assets to speak of, Beacon Pointe has grown to employ nearly 500 individuals in more than 50 offices nationwide. The firm reports overseeing more than $30 billion in cumulative client assets, including more than $23 billion managed under its ADV for over 13,000 individual and 240 institutional investors.
Constellation-backed Perigon Picks Up Two Firms, $375M in Assets
Bay Area-based Perigon Wealth Management has acquired two more firms after selling a minority stake to Karl Heckenberg’s growth-focused RIA investment firm, Constellation Wealth Capital, early this year.
In Syracuse, N.Y., Blue Water Capital Management was founded in 2007 and comprises a team of three advisors and a financial planning associate managing approximately $200 million for more than 300 individuals and about 15 institutional clients.
Lumin Financial in Southfield, Mich., founded in 2000 to provide investment advisory services to employer-sponsored ERISA retirement plans and 401(k) plan participants, includes two advisors, three associates, a manager of wealth services and a director of operations. They also offer financial planning and asset management services to individual clients, which comprise about 60% of the approximately $175 million under management.
“Our range of affiliation models and advisor support continue to make our majority advisor-owned firm an attractive partner for growing financial practices,” Perigon CEO Art Ambarik said in a statement.
The acquisitions represent Perigon’s second and third deals of 2024, following the acquisition of Prudeo Partners in February. Founded in 2004, Perigon began recruiting independent advisors as tuck-ins to its platform in 2017, completed its first acquisition in 2020 and has since done several other deals and established a strategic alliance with an international tax advisory firm.
The capital provided via the Constellation partnership will support continued growth as Perigon pursues both organic and inorganic growth strategies on a mission to build a national firm. Since early 2020, the firm has grown assets from around $1.8 billion to nearly $7 billion at the end of January.
With more than 100 employees and 64 advisors, Perigon serves around 3,425 individual and 75 institutional clients.