Perigon Wealth Management, an independent wealth management firm based in San Francisco with $3 billion in client assets, is planning a series of acquisitions in 2022 and beyond, and it announced the first of those deals today—the purchase of Baker & Associates, a firm with more than $200 million in client assets.
Perigon, a majority financial advisor-owned and led firm, has more than 50 professionals. It has already seen rapid growth after building off the approximately $150 million it had in assets under management less than 10 years ago. Merchant Investment Management, a private equity firm, recently became a minority owner of Perigon. The terms of the Baker deal were not released.
Perigon offers advisors and firms several ways to join it. It can pursue a full merger or acquisition with another firm. It can purchase a minority stake in a target firm. It also allows advisors to affiliate with it as independents. Or it can hire advisors as W-2 employees.
“Our advisor-owned model combines autonomy for the joining firm as well as a collaborative environment,” said Arthur Ambarik, CEO of Perigon Wealth Management, in an interview. “We want to offer the advisors choices and flexibility.”
Ambarik said in a statement that the days are over “when independent financial advisors seeking growth must choose between either becoming part of an aggregator model or being recruited into a large firm, only to [have to] fight for scarce attention and service resources.”
He continued, “Looking ahead, we view this acquisition as the starting point of a new stage of expansion for Perigon, as we create an industry-leading enterprise that offers truly differentiated choices for financial advisors.”
Baker & Associates, which will operate under the Perigon name, provides a suite of services, including financial planning, estate planning, retirement planning and portfolio management, to the owners of closely held businesses, professionals, and affluent individuals. Founder Chris Baker will become a partner at Perigon Wealth Management and will sit on the firm’s financial planning committee.
“For Perigon, the transaction gives us the additional advantage of being able to offer even better products and services to our clients, whose financial lives are becoming more complicated,” Ambarik said.