Cresset Asset Management, a Chicago registered investment advisor, announced that it has acquired one of the oldest multifamily offices in the country in a deal that brings $1.6 billion in client assets to Cresset.
Cresset announced today it bought the Connable Office of Kalamazoo, Mich. Connable, organized as a private trust company, started as a single-family office in the late 1800s and is more than 130 years old, according to a press release. The deal will bring Cresset's assets under management to more than $52 billion.
"Like Cresset, Connable was founded by clients, for clients," Cresset said in a press release. "Connable is distinguished by its stability, expertise, and personalized service as a multi-generational trust company and family office."
Cresset co-founder and Co-Chairman Avy Stein told Financial Advisor that Cresset considers the trust business an important service for its clients and acquiring Connable allows the firm “to expand dramatically” in that business.
In the press release, Cresset said it will now take advantage of the “personalized and high-touch solutions and opportunities many of the largest endowments and single-family offices in the country enjoy.”
Citing the “outstanding cultural fit” of the companies, Eric Becker, also co-founder and co-chairman of Cresset, stated in the release, “We are the powerful combination of a firm with a 100+ year legacy and one that has been built for the next 100 years. Both Cresset and Connable have built the firms we wanted for our own families, and we are honored to share that with other successful families as well.”
Cresset also noted that Connable, led by principals Loyal Eldridge III, Kenneth Larason, James Melvin, and Bradley Weller, boasts deep experience in family office services, investing, and trust and foundation administration. The partnership with Connable also adds significant scale and capability in trust administration services, according to the release.
"Our firms share a client-first mentality and employ a holistic, team-based approach to client service,” Connable CEO James Melvin said in a statement. “We are optimistic for what the future holds for our clients and team members alike."