A subsidiary of Meketa Investment Group created early this year to provide customized private investment opportunities for RIAs has two new owners and some new faces on its board, while Cetera’s first pure RIA acquisition has embarked on a sub-acquisition strategy and Snowden Lane added a mother and son managing $208 million.
Meanwhile, SEIA has hired a director of estate, tax and financial planning formerly with EP Wealth to oversee the development of tax-efficient wealth transfer services.
In other news this week, a pair of Snowden Lane advisors left to launch an independent RIA in Florida, a small Southern California-based firm sprouted a new, trust-backed RIA, Dynasty Financial hired former Schwab exec Tim Oden, Stonebridge Financial’s new RIA scored its first advisor, and Mercer Global hired a CFO away from McKinsey.
AlTi Tiedemann Global also announced a $450 million investment from Allianz and Constellation Wealth Capital to support international growth strategies, and LPL is adding $16 billion to its institution services platform from Winfield Financial.
Meketa Capital Gets Family Office Investment, New Board Members
Meketa Capital, a subsidiary of Meketa Investment Group launched earlier this year to offer customized private market investments for RIAs and other asset managers, announced an investment from the Widger family office through East Bay Merchant Partners.
Ashley Widger has become a Meketa Capital owner and growth capital provider, naming her father and business partner, Chuck Widger, to the firm’s board.
“Meketa is ideally suited to help individual investors access private markets opportunities via the RIA channel,” she said in a statement. “I look forward to working closely with Michael Bell and the entire Meketa Capital team to grow the firm’s product offering and further expand its RIA relationships.”
Chuck Widger founded and ran Brinker Capital for more than 30 years before stepping down when it completed a merger with Orion Advisor Solutions in 2020. Former Brinker CEO Noreen Beaman and former CFO Phil Green will serve as advisors to the Meketa Capital Board.
Meketa Capital CEO Michael Bell also bought a stake in the firm.
“These changes solidify our long-term strategic plan by ensuring the firm has the financial resources and experienced team to be a leader in expanding access to private markets investing for financial intermediaries and their clients,” he said.
Both deals became effective on Feb.1. Meketa Capital remains majority owned by its parent company.
Founded in 1978, Meketa Investment Group is an employee-owned, full-service investment consulting and OCIO firm that has historically been focused on the institutional space. The company reports advising on $1.8 trillion in client assets at the end of September.
Cetera-Owned TRPG Buys Kansas Advisory Practice
The Retirement Planning Group, a $1.8 billion RIA in the southern Kansas City suburbs, made its first acquisition since it became the first pure RIA acquired by Cetera Holdings in May.
TRPG acquired the assets of Dightman Capital Group, a local practice overseeing about $61.2 million for 123 individual clients at the time of its latest ADV filing in March 2023. Owner Brian Dightman joined TRPG as a W-2 advisor to take advantage of employee benefits, and a variety of resources such as back-office support, marketing and a broader technology platform.
According to an announcement, the acquisition is the first of many as Cetera seeks to bring more RIAs under the TRPG brand.
In addition to comprehensive financial planning, TRPG provides tax, payroll and bookkeeping services. It has offices in St. Louis and Denver, along with its headquarters in Leawood, Kan.
Cetera claims more than $475 billion in assets under administration and $190 billion in assets under management across its various advisor communities.
Snowden Lane Adds $208M Mother/Son Team at NYC HQ
Snowden Lane Partners, a dually registered wealth management platform supporting primarily wirehouse and bank breakaway advisors, landed a mother/son team from Laidlaw & Company.
With some $208 million in client assets, Ornella and Brian Solomon are joining Snowden Lane as managing directors at the firm’s Madison Avenue headquarters in New York City. They are operating as the Lewis-Solomon Group and have chosen Charles Schwab as custodian.
The duo is the first team to join Snowden Lane this year, after 2023 saw the addition of 12 advisors with more than $1 billion in combined assets, the rollout of a W-2 model and the opening of three new office locations.
Late last week, WealthManagement.com reported a team of two in Chicago left Snowden Lane to create a new RIA in Florida called Coral Reef Advisors.
Owned by Estancia Capital Partners since 2013, Snowden Lane has also leveraged debt capital through ORIX Corporation to facilitate its recruitment strategy since 2018. The firm currently reports employing 149 total professionals, including 86 advisors, across 15 offices in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Texas, New York, New Hampshire and Colorado.
In November, Snowden Lane reported reaching $11 billion in client assets.
SEIA Hires New Director of Estate, Tax and Financial Planning
Signature Estate & Investment Advisors, a California RIA with about $19 billion in client assets, brought in a former estate planning director at EP Wealth to lead an expansion of multi-generational financial planning services.
As Director of Estate, Tax, and Financial Planning at SEIA, April Rosenberry will lead a team working with clients to develop tax-efficient strategies regarding lifetime, trust and estate transfers of wealth. She has also been charged with expanding services and improving client experience.
“The goal is to ensure the same high caliber of customer service SEIA is known for in the area of estate and tax planning, while utilizing advisor-led financial plans built on SEIA’s proven performance,” according to an announcement.
“Estate, tax, and financial planning have always been a part of what we offer and we will not rest on our laurels,” SEIA President and CEO Brian Holmes said in a statement. “Client expectations change and we must also change to continue to deliver the outstanding service, advice, and care they’ve come to expect.”
Owned by private equity firm Reverence Capital Partners and a group of employees, SEIA has five office locations in California, including its Century City headquarters in Los Angeles, and nine additional locations in eight other states.