Chicago-based Cresset Asset Management announced on Wednesday that it is acquiring Reston, Virginia-based RIA PagnatoKarp.
PagnatoKarp is an employee-owned multi-family office that has gained a reputation for offering a broad range of alternative investment opportunities to its clients. Cresset, founded in 2017, aims to deliver more comprehensive wealth management services to clients than the industry does on average.
“PagnatoKarp was born during the Great Recession in reaction to the lack of transparency in the industry. Our desire was to create a new paradigm for wealth management by democratizing the family office. In Cresset, we have found a partner that shares that vision and has the scale and depth of capabilities to greatly expand the services we offer to a broader segment of individuals and families,” said Paul Pagnato, CEO Founder of PagnatoKarp, in comments released on Wednesday. Pagnato has been a speaker at Financial Advisor’s Inside Alternatives conference.
All of PagnatoKarp’s team members will join Cresset as part of the transaction and will continue serving their clients.
The deal increases Cresset’s AUM to $9.5 billion, adding approximately $2.3 billion from PagnatoKarp.
“As a firm founded by clients, for clients, we are proud to partner with the team at PagnatoKarp, as they share our cultural values of access and transparency, as well as our intense focus on client success,” said Cresset co-founder Eric Becker in released comments. “Together, our ability to deliver innovative family office, private investment, and wealth advisory services is truly exciting.”