Cerity Partners, an independent financial advisory firm headquartered in New York City, has acquired New York City-based wealth management firm EMM Wealth, according to a news release.
The deal for EMM, which manages $3 billion in client assets, boosts Cerity Partners' asset base to $25 billion.
Michael Stein, John Gold and Bill Aaron founded EMM in 1968 with a vision to pioneer highly personalized, commission-free wealth management services for affluent individuals and their families, according to the firm’s website.
Half-a-century later, EMM co-founder Aaron's son, Co-CEO David Aaron, and fellow Co-CEO, Lloyd Abramowitz, lead a 36-member team that includes 17 investment and six tax and financial planning professionals offering a range of financial services such as family office, trust and fiduciary advisement, family governance and next-gen education.
While Cerity Partners is a younger firm than EMM, it has grown quickly. Founded in 2009 as HPM Partners, the company rebranded early last year using a modified version of the word “sincerity” in its name to reflect its mission of service to its clients, according to a company press release last year.
The firm operates as a private partnership model, serving ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their families, businesses and their employees, and nonprofit organizations.
Last year, Cerity Partners president and CEO Kurt Miscinski told Financial Advisor that his company preferred to acquire its partners through a merger, rather than affiliating with them through other means.
Toward that end, Cerity Partners merged last year with Blue Prairie Group, a Chicago-based retirement plan advisor with $11 billion in AUM, and Karsten Advisors, a Fort Worth, Tex., financial planner with $500 million in AUM. Both firms are now rebranded with the Cerity Partners name, as is EMM Wealth.
With the addition of EMM’s team, Cerity Partners says it can expand and enhance its service offerings to clients in New York and across the country.
Details of the transaction with EMM were not disclosed.