Paragon Investment Management Inc. in Seattle, Wash., has been acquired by United Capital Financial Advisors LLC, marking United Capital’s entry into the field in the Pacific Northwest. Terms were not disclosed.
The transaction represents a departure for United Capital, which specializes in acquiring mid-sized advisory firms. Paragon is a much larger firm than the typical United Capital acquisition.
Paragon, with $1 billion in assets under management, is one of the larger women-owned RIAs in the country. Paragon was founded by Shari Burns in 1991 and serves high-net-worth individuals, families and institutional clients. It has 15 investment professionals. She will serve as a managing director with United Capital. United Capital has $15 billion in client assets and 41 offices.
United Capital will add resources and expertise to Paragon’s existing operation, including giving Paragon access to state-of-the art technology, portfolio management systems and additional investment research.
“By leveraging United Capital’s platform, our office will be able to spend less time on the administrative, accounting and regulatory areas of running a financial advisory business and more time focused on the most important aspects of our client relationships,” says Burns.