Deals & People July 25, 2023

Fiducient Advisors Names Long CIO

Bradford Long, current chair of the firm's investment committee, will be replacing Matthew Rice as chief investment officer. 

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Bradford Long, a managing partner in Fiducient Advisors, is stepping into the role of chief investment officer, replacing Matthew Rice, the company confirmed Tuesday.

Long, who joined Fiducient in 2012, will now lead the firm’s investment strategy and research efforts. In addition, Long chairs the firm’s investment committee and is a member of its discretionary committee, research forum, capital markets team and mission-aligned investing committee.  

“As Deputy CIO, I had the opportunity to lead our Investment Committee for the last 18 months,” Long wrote in an emailed statement. “While the title change is effective this week, our broader succession plan has afforded us ample time for a very thoughtful transition.” 

Prior to joining Fiducient, Long worked in various research capacities at Citigroup and Wells Fargo in New York. 

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Rice wrote in a LinkedIn post on Monday that: “With a heart filled with both excitement and nostalgia, I share with all of you that after an incredible journey of 23 years, I will be bidding farewell to Fiducient Advisors later this year. This decision was not an easy one, as this firm has been my second home, a place where I have grown both professionally and personally, and where I have had the privilege of working with some truly remarkable individuals.” 

The move comes shortly after Fiducient named Sabrina Bailey as its new CEO last week. Bailey will join from the London Stock Exchange Group plc, where she was global head of investment and wealth solutions. She will succeed Bob DiMeo, the co-founder of Fiducient, who will become chairman.  

Deals & People July 24, 2023

Advisory M&A

Sequoia Financial adds $387M wealth manager; Pathstone adds Veritable to further focus on ultra-high-net-worth clients; and Savant Wealth buys combined accounting firm and wealth manager.

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Sequoia Financial to add Cirrus Wealth Management

Sequoia Financial Group LLC has entered into an agreement to acquire Cirrus Wealth Management, a registered wealth management firm. The firms did not disclose financial terms for the deal expected to close on July 31.

Akron, Ohio-based Sequoia Financial will bring on Cirrus Wealth and its $387 million in assets under management comprised of individual, families and small businesses. Cleveland-based Cirrus was founded in 2015 by Joe Heider and has 12 employees, including advisory and support teams, according to an announcement.

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Heider’s son, Ryan, will join Sequoia as vice president and wealth adviser and will continue to support Cirrus clients and take on additional responsibilities.

“As part of our growth plans, we want to provide a way for firms like Cirrus to secure their legacies and help pass the torch from one generation to the next,” Tom Haught, founder and CEO of Sequoia, said in a statement. “We look forward to making Cirrus part of the Sequoia family and assisting Joe in executing the firm’s succession plan.”

Sequioa has more than 200 employees and more than $16 billion in AUM.

Pathstone to Acquire Veritable LP

Pathstone, a registered investment advisory focused on ultra-high-net-worth investors, will add Veritable LLP to its Englewood, New Jersey-based advisory, adding more than $17 billion in assets across 200 clients.

Pathstone is acquiring Veritable from its management partners and Affiliated Managers Group Inc., which partners with independent investment management firms. Upon completion of the deal, Pathstone’s assets under advisement and administration will exceed $100 billion, according to an announcement.

“Veritable changed everything in the UHNW advisory business—they have a rich history of creating what today we call a multi-family office, and they understand what it means to deliver differentiating advice to UHNW families,” Matthew Fleissig, co-founder and CEO of Pathstone, said in a statement.

Veritable was founded in 1986 by Michael Stolper, who will become co-chairman of Pathstone, which has 87 employees based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

Savant Wealth Buys Tax Consultancy and Wealth Manager

Registered investment adviser Savant Wealth Management has acquired Dover, Delaware-based tax and accounting advisory Raymond F. Book & Associates PA and its affiliated fee-only RIA, Wealth Management Group LLC.

The acquisition builds Savant Wealth’s combined tax and accounting team to nearly 100 tax and accounting professionals. The deal, which closed July 19, also brought on Wealth Management Group’s $376.3 million in AUM.

Of the 26 employees joining Savant, seven will become member-owners, bringing Savant’s total number of employee owners to 136 and overall employees to 464, according to the announcement. Savant, headquartered in Rockford, Illinois, expects to make additional acquisitions this year.

“Unlike many acquirers in our arena, Savant is unique because we are interested in partnering with more than just the wealth side of the business,” said Brent Brodeski, CEO of Savant Wealth Management. “Our partnership with these two sister firms further solidifies Savant’s commitment to being the leading integrated wealth management, tax and accounting firm. This is the third combo RIA/CPA firm we have acquired and the fourth accounting firm.”

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