Hightower Invests in $600M Texas RIA

The latest deal is the RIA aggregator's fifth this year and comes two weeks after it bought part of a $3.3 billion Dallas-based group.

Hightower CEO Bob Oros

Hightower says it has made a strategic investment in Teak Tree Capital Management, a $600 million RIA in Fort Worth, Texas. Founded in 2009, the group has seven employees, including three advisors.

The latest deal is Hightower’s fifth this year and comes two weeks after it bought a stake in Frontier Investment Management, a Dallas-based wealth advisory firm with nine offices and $3.3 billion in assets under management.

Including Frontier and Teak Tree, Hightower has 110 advisory businesses in 33 states.

“Teak Tree is a strong business that is poised for further growth in the Fort Worth area and beyond,” said Hightower CEO Bob Oros in a statement.

For the tie-up, Hightower will supply Teak Tree with middle- and back-office operations, technology, business development and other services, Oros added. 

As of June 30, 2020, the RIA aggregator has about $57 billion in assets under management and $76 billion in  assets under administration.

Related: Coming Soon at Hightower: More Strategic Investments in RIAs

Stephen Kaye, co-founder and partner at Teak Tree, says that he and co-founder Adam Deem “aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, but we have taken a big step toward making sure our clients will be OK for the long term.” 

The group “told our clients in a recent letter that Teak Tree has gone from a child to an adult, and Hightower will attend to many of the needs of a mature business. This is the right time to join with Hightower,” Kaye added.

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