CI Financial Corp., a Toronto-based investment management firm, has agreed to acquire a majority interest in Stavis & Cohen Financial LLC (SCF), a Houston-based registered investment advisor firm managing approximately $570 million in client assets, the companies recently announced.

SCF is a privately held wealth management firm led by co-founders Deborah Stavis, chief executive officer, and Eddie Cohen, chief investment officer. The practice focuses on helping high-net-worth families reach their lifetime and multi-generational goals by providing individualized guidance and support in all aspects of wealth planning. 

Stavis said in a news release that CI’s expertise in both asset and wealth management complemented her firm’s services, while enhancing the value she and her team provided to their clients, which in turn supported the growth of the practice.

“CI is the ideal partner for our clients, our employees and our business as we move to the next phase of our development,” Stavis said in the news release. “CI understands and shares our mission of helping families navigate the complexities of accumulating, preserving and distributing assets to achieve their goals through an in-depth planning approach.”

In the news release, Kurt MacAlpine, the CEO of CI Financial, described Stavis as a financial planning pioneer. He said that she and Cohen had built an “exceptional” business with deep ties to the community it served.

“We look forward to working with Stavis & Cohen to grow their business in Houston, a dynamic and attractive market for us,” MacAlpine said. “Their specialization in serving corporate executives in the oil and gas sector presents strategic synergies with our Western Canadian wealth management business, allowing us to seamlessly serve industry clients both north and south of the border.”

The SCF transaction, once completed, will increase CI’s U.S. assets to approximately US$13 billion, and total North American wealth assets to approximately US$59 billion (according to the firms' numbers as of September 30, 2020).

Since entering the U.S. RIA market in the first quarter of 2020, CI has acquired or agreed to acquire seven RIAs directly and 10 overall, including transactions by affiliates (these numbers include SCF). Once all pending transactions close, CI will hold interests in U.S. RIAs with offices located in California, Arizona, Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio and Massachusetts. 

As part of its North American growth strategy, CI will be introducing the CI Private Wealth brand in both Canada and the United States to represent its high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth advisory businesses. It has also applied to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which MacAlpine said today in a separate news release would allow CI to offer its stock to U.S. RIAs as part of the purchase price to invest in them, broadening its appeal. The NYSE listing is subject to approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Founded in 1965, CI Financial is an independent company offering global asset management and wealth management advisory services.