Aspen Standard Wealth, a New York-based holding company that partners with registered investment advisory firms, has acquired Summitry, a San Francisco area firm with $2.8 billion in assets under management, according to a news release.
The acquisition is the first for the holding company since it was founded earlier this year.
Financial terms of the deal, which closed on Friday, were not disclosed.
Summitry was founded in 2003 and offers financial planning and investment strategies, the release said. It is headed by CEO Colin Higgins, who has been with the company from the start.
“When I met the team at Aspen, it was clear that they were different. They take a long-term view of everything they do. They care about growing our people, continuing to build on top of the foundation that our team has built, and helping us deliver more for our clients,” Higgins said in a statement.
Aspen, which was founded by Aly Kassim-Lakha, is majority-owned by San Francisco private equity firm Alpine Investors, where Kassim-Lakha previously worked.
“Unlike other acquirers, Aspen’s plan is to build for the long term, not to resell," the company said in the press release. "This philosophy keeps everyone aligned and invested in further maturing and growing the business, with less friction than most conventional transactions.”
Summitry, Kassim-Lakha said, “embodies everything we seek in a partner: growth oriented, client obsessed, and people focused,” He added, “Aspen offers what successful, leading RIAs like Summitry have long been looking for: a deeply knowledgeable, permanent partner who is there to support them indefinitely. We are the sorely needed alternative to traditional investment firms in that we enable our partners to thrive long term.”
Kassim-Lakha, in an email to Financial Advisor, said Aspen plans to complete one to two deals a month. He said the firm is looking to acquire established RIAs ranging in AUM from $300 million to $10 billion “that are on a growth trajectory ad want to further enhance that growth.”