The amount of activity in the RIA space continued strong this week.
Sequoia Financial Group said it’s acquiring a Nashville firm with $930 million in managed assets, while Mercer Advisors has brought in an additional $630 million in its 8th deal of the year. NewEdge Wealth nabbed ultra-high-net-worth advisors from JP Morgan’s First Republic, and CoastalOne has added nine North Texas advisors with $500 million in collective assets.
In personnel announcements, SageView Advisory Group has named two next-gen leaders and a chief legal officer formerly with Goldman Sachs; Linscomb & Williams named four to leadership and advisory roles; and Pathstone has brought in a family office expert from Fidelity to help “redefine” its UHNW offering.
In other RIA news reported earlier this week:
Beacon Pointe announced three acquisitions, potentially adding close to $2.5 billion in total assets, and Rockefeller Global Family Office added a UBS team with $963 million.
Concurrent added Schwab as its second custodian and another $1 billion in assets as it celebrates a year of independence. Modern Wealth Management expanded tax capabilities with its fifth acquisition since launching in April, and more Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management advisors have fled to Farther and Prime Capital Investment Advisors ahead of an expected sale to Creative Planning.
Meanwhile, former Goldman Sachs/United Capital executive Joe Duran hired former Wealth Enhancement Group COO Terri Kallsen as board chair, partner and senior operating advisor for his new company, Rise Growth Partners.
Sequoia Financial Group to Acquire M Capital Advisors in Nashville
Sequoia Financial Group, an Ohio-based RIA with more than $15 billion in AUM, has entered into an agreement to acquire M Capital Advisors in a deal expected to close by the end of the month.
Based in Nashville, with an additional office in San Antonio, M Capital was established in 1993 by Chair Frank Mastrapasqua, who leads a team of 13 along with CEO Mauro Mastrapasqua, Chief Portfolio Strategist Edwin Barton, Chief Investment Officer Patrick Snell and Principal/Portfolio Manager Claude Koontz. They provide private wealth and institutional asset management, as well as cash flow planning and philanthropic services for fewer than 300 clients, with around $930 million in managed assets.
Sequoia has announced four acquisitions in 2023, including Zeke Capital Advisors, Cirrus Wealth Management, and Affinia Financial Group. With the addition of M Capital, Sequoia will employ 250 people and manage more than $16.5 billion in total assets.
Mercer Advisors Acquires Kingfisher Capital in 8th Deal of Year
Mercer Global Advisors, a Denver-based RIA managing more than $40 billion in assets, has purchased Kingfisher Capital in a deal that adds around 210 clients and $630 million in managed assets to the active acquirer’s platform.
Launched in 1989 by Alexander Miles and H.K. Hallett, the Kingfisher team comprises 10 professionals in Charlotte, N.C., taking a family office approach to investment and wealth management, as well as consultation across a variety of related areas like business management, gender-specific investment strategies, life transitions, philanthropy, art and thematic investing, retirement and credit solutions.
“We knew we had found the right partner that was not only a national family office RIA with institutional investment capabilities, but also a firm with dozens of estate planning lawyers, a dedicated team of CPAs and other tax professionals, and corporate trustee and other services in-house, and all under one roof,” Hallett said in a statement.
Mercer is majority owned by Genstar Capital and Oak Hill Capital. The RIA has been on a mission to establish itself as a leading national firm and refreshed its branding earlier this year to reflect that goal. Established in 1985, Mercer Global currently employs more than 960 people, including 400 advisors, across more than 70 offices nationwide.
NewEdge Wealth Adds First Republic Team
Parthenon Capital-backed NewEdge Wealth, a Stamford, Conn.-based RIA serving ultra-wealthy families, family offices and institutional clients, has added a team of three from First Republic Investment Management led by Michael Kramer.
With two decades of experience, Kramer was a practicing cardiologist and served on the voluntary faculty of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine before moving into financial services in 2003, when he joined NBGI Securities. Kramer has since held leadership roles at Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management and B. Riley Wealth Management. He spent two years with First Republic National Bank, until that was acquired by JP Morgan earlier this year. Kramer, who will be joined by two client service associates, will serve as a managing director at NewEdge.
Launched in late 2020, NewEdge Wealth continues to grow organically and through acquisitions. In June, the firm announced the opening of offices in San Francisco and the Nashville area, with a second expansion to San Francisco in September. The RIA now has nine offices in addition to its headquarters in Stamford, Conn.
Owned by parent company NewEdge Capital Group, which oversees some $40 billion in client assets across two RIAs and a brokerage, NewEdge Wealth accounts for about a third of total assets.
CoastalOne Onboards 9 North Texas Advisors
CoastalOne, a hybrid broker/dealer and RIA platform based in Wilmington, Del., has announced the recruitment of nine advisors and their teams from Titan Securities in the larger Dallas/Fort Worth area, adding more than $500 million in client assets.
Titan shuttered its doors at the end of June, according to FINRA, following seven regulatory events—one of which is still under appeal—since launching in California in 2004. The other six resulted in $89,500 worth of fines between 2009 and 2023, all but $7,000 of which has been levied since 2019.
All nine advisors have successfully transitioned to the CoastalOne platform, where several are now working together as ensemble teams. Lone Star Wealth Advisors, for instance, specializes in developing retirement planning strategies that leverage alternative investments. Other recruits include Thomas Schultz of LyfeAdvisors, Rick Goodwin of Income & Wealth Strategies and Chuck Lanza of Integrity Capital Advisory.
Established in 1989, CoastalOne provides a service, operations, technology and compliance platform for more than 170 financial advisors, with around $70 million in annual revenue. As of an August SEC filing, its RIA arm Coastal Investment Advisors oversees around $780 million in registered assets, including about $110 million managed on a non-discretionary basis.
Recently acquired by Orange Street Holdings, CoastalOne appointed O’Keefe to the position of CEO earlier this year.
SageView Adds Next-Gen Leaders, Chief Legal Officer
SageView Advisory Group, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based RIA with more than $156 billion in managed assets, announced two next-gen hires in support of strategic expansion and a new chief legal officer formerly with Goldman Sachs.
Matt Cosgriff joins as senior vice president and head of wealth management advisory services, after almost nine years with BerganKDV, which was acquired by Creative Planning this summer. In his most recent role, he was director of wealth management at the multi-faceted financial services firm, growing client assets from $1 billion to $2.5 billion.
Sophie Benander joins SageView as vice president of wealth management client experience, following more than 4½ years with Adviser Investments and more than a decade at BNY Mellon, where she held a variety of roles.
Reporting to COO Jorge Bernal, Benander and Cosgriff will support further expansion as the firm seeks to retain and capture next-generation clients poised to inherit trillions over the coming decades.
SageView has also named Natasha Pfeiffer to serve as chief legal officer and corporate secretary, overseeing legal and compliance in coordination with all areas of the organization in support of both the private wealth and institutional retirement businesses.
Pfeiffer joined SageView over the summer after more than four years with Goldman Sachs, where she served as senior counsel and senior legal director as a vice president. Prior to its acquisition by Goldman, she was assistant general counsel for United Capital. Before that, she was general counsel for Taco Bell, after beginning her legal career at Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles.
"SageView is an exceptional firm in a unique position to take full advantage of one of the largest retiring populations in history," she said, in a statement. "I am excited to support the expansion of our private wealth business and look forward to supporting John and the board of directors' vision for this firm."
Founded in 1989 and majority owned by Aquiline Capital Partners since late 2021, SageView comprises 33 offices across more than 275 employees in 19 states, in addition to its California headquarters.
Linscomb & Williams Grows Wealth Management Team
Linscomb & Williams, an RIA subsidiary of Cadence Bank in Houston, has announced changes to its wealth management team, appointing four individuals to leadership and advisory roles in a move to “elevate” client service and foster growth.
Daniel Thornton was promoted to chief operations officer, overseeing the wealth services and technology teams, where he is charged with leveraging resources to enhance internal and external operations. Thornton joined L&W in June 2021 in the role of director of operations, following four years as a business analyst at Innovest Systems, almost nine as manager of investment services at Kanaly Trust and nearly 12 with AIM/Invesco.
Hernaldo Rivera Jr. stepped into the role of director of business development in August after joining the team in January. In his latest role, he is focused on client development initiatives and works to cultivate growth opportunities. Prior to joining L&W, Rivera was a senior director and principal at Yorktown Funds, where he spent almost nine years after five with Dreyfus, under BNY Mellon.
Neal Wadley has been serving as a director and wealth advisor since August 2022 and continues to further develop the firm's family office services. Wadley's expertise and dedication to comprehensive planning and advisory services will be instrumental in providing clients with top-tier financial planning and investment solutions.
Lucas Veldhuis joined the L&W team in June as principal and wealth advisor, bringing experience working with high-net-worth families. Veldhuis was formerly a Houston-based wealth advisor with The Mather Group and a senior advisor with Pathstone in Alaska.
In April, L&W’s last remaining namesakes departed to launch an RIA that shares profits with clients. The following month, the firm announced a new board chairman.
Per an early September SEC filing, Linscomb & Williams oversees around $4.3 billion across approximately 5,400 accounts and 1,900 clients.
Family Office Practice Expert Jim Coutré Joins Pathstone
Pathstone, a partner-owned firm based in Englewood, N.J., with $24.8 billion in assets, has appointed Jim Coutré as managing director and head of wealth planning.
One of the authors of Reshaping Reality: Unlocking the Potential of the Single Family Office, Coutré joins Pathstone from Fidelity Family Office Services, where he worked with some of the nation’s wealthiest families as vice president of insights and connections. Prior to joining Fidelity in 2014, he was a partner at The Philanthropic Initiative, helping clients with their charitable giving and training other advisors to do the same.
Based in Pathstone’s Boston office, Coutré will work to “redefine” the firm’s ultra-high-net-worth service offering, according to an announcement.
“I’m thrilled to join a team that truly appreciates how earned and inherited wealth can be both a blessing and a burden,” he said in a statement. “Pathstone is as committed as I am to piloting new ways to help clients achieve the health, fulfillment, and functioning that defines their success.”
“Mr. Coutré is an outspoken advocate for addressing the human impact of financial wealth, not only the technical complexities,” added Pathstone President Kelly Maregni, in a statement.