RIA Roundup: Cerity Partners Hits $100B with Denver-based OCIO Firm Agility

RIA Edge>RIA News RIA Roundup: Cerity Partners Hits $100B with Denver-based OCIO Firm Agility Plus, a Los Angeles firm serving the ultra-wealthy taps a CPA from AdvicePeriod to manage multi-family office services and other reported news of the week.

Ali Hibbs | Apr 12, 2024

Cerity Partners will reach $100 billion in assets when a deal to buy the $15 billion OCIO division of Perella Weinberg Partners Capital Management closes later this year, and Validus Capital has scooped up a CPA from Mariner Wealth-affiliated AdvicePeriod to head up multi-family office services.  

In earlier reported talent news of the week:  

• Burt White has succeeded Ron Carson as CEO of Carson Wealth, while Dani Fava and Heather Heather Randolph Carter were brought in to lead strategy and marketing;  
• Wealth Enhancement Group brought in a former BlackRock executive to lead investments and elevated Jim Cahn to chief of strategy and chair of investments;   
• Modern Wealth Management brought in another former Goldman Sachs exec to lead organic growth initiatives and build out advisory services;  
• Choreo tapped the CIO of a recently acquired firm to serve as its first official CIO  

Related: Ron Carson Steps Down as Carson Group CEO

In earlier reported deal news:  

• Redbird Capital-backed Arax Investment Partners bought a hybrid firm with $9 billion in assets across 5,500 clients and 62 advisors;  
• F.L.Putnam is bringing trust services in-house;  
• Diversify Wealth Management added a $645 million Delaware Firm to its nascent W-2 platform;  
• Steward Partners revealed it added $1 billion in assets in January and February;  
• Ameriflex added 16 advisors and $2.5 billion in the first quarter of the year, while Waverly Advisors moved into North Carolina with its 13th acquisition in less than three years, and Fortis Capital picked up a four-person Illinois team led by a father and daughter.   

In related news: Q&A: AlTi Global CEO on Going Public in a Challenging Market 

Cerity Partners Hits $100B with Denver-based OCIO Firm Agility 

Related: Arax Acquires $9B Hybrid Broker/Dealer in Houston

Cerity Partners is joining forces with a provider of outsourced investment solutions for non-profits, family offices, corporations, healthcare organizations and others, the firm announced this week. The deal will bring Cerity to approximately $100 billion in client assets.  

Denver-based Agility, owned by Perella Weinberg Partners Capital Management, will become Cerity Partners OCIO when the acquisition closes later this year. It will also create an OCIO investment committee within Cerity. According to Davis Polk, the legal firm that advised Perella on the sale, Agility was managing $15 billion in outsourced assets at the end of 2023. 

"We are thrilled to welcome the Agility team, which brings nearly two decades of experience and unparalleled expertise in serving non-profit organizations, businesses and ultra-high-net-worth clientele," Cerity CEO Kurt Miscinski said in a statement. "This partnership will reinforce our ability to serve this very important segment of the market." 

"At Cerity Partners, we will preserve the elements of our investment research and processes that supported our growth within PWPCM while benefiting from the additional scale and services that Cerity Partners can provide to new and existing clients," added Agility CEO/CIO Chris Bittman. 

Founded in 2009, Cerity Partners has been minority backed by private equity firm Lightyear Capital since 2017 and majority-owned by Genstar Capital since 2022. With more than 900 employees, including about 700 advisors, Cerity serves more than 15,700 households, approximately 57% of which are considered ultra-wealthy. The firm also serves around 600 retirement plans comprising more than $16 billion under management and about 95 institutional investors. 

Validus Capital Taps Mariner Advisor to Manage Multi-Family Office Services 

Los Angeles-based Validus Capital, an RIA managing about $1.5 billion for 147 ultra-wealthy households and $98 million in pooled investments, has scooped up a former Mariner Wealth advisor to serve as managing director of multi-family office services.  

Wayne Park, a CPA, was registered as an advisor under Mariner Wealth from September 2022 until April 1, 2024, where he reportedly “helped UHNW families and closely held entities navigate complicated tax structures, estate planning, investment, gift and income strategies” at Mariner-affiliated firm, AdvicePeriod. Prior to that, he provided tax compliance and consulting services for ultra-wealthy clients of Apercen Partners, a tax firm focused on venture, hedge, and private equity partners, entrepreneurs and corporate executives. 

“Wayne has a solid foundation of skills in accounting, tax compliance, estate planning,” Validus Strategic Advisor Gina Sasso said in a statement. “His hiring further demonstrates our commitment to building the Multi-Family Office Services platform as our clients’ financial management, tax and estate planning needs evolve.” 

Park will work from Validus’ L.A. headquarters to provide comprehensive tax, estate and wealth transfer services, as well as “deliver value to clients through sophisticated family office reporting that incorporates insights and guidance from external advisors into a cohesive framework,” according to the announcement.  

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