$3B RIA Gets Boost From Merchant Investment Group
The firm, Corient Capital, was formed by breakaways from Merrill in 2015.
Corient Capital Partners, an RIA with $3.1 billion in assets under management, has picked up a “minority, noncontrolling investment” from Merchant Investment Management, Corient announced Monday. Terms were not disclosed.
“We want to build on our success by ensuring Corient has the durability and longevity to serve clients not just today, but for generations to come,” said Corient CEO James Rooney in a statement.
The Newport Beach, Califoria-based RIA focuses on wealthy families, business owners, public company executives, private foundations and professional athletes, it stated.
“I see this partnership as emblematic of the evolution that’s taking place in the wealth management industry — businesses align with the Merchant ecosystem of independent wealth firms and service providers that collectively offer full access to the most advanced industry tools and solutions,” according to Merchant Executive Chairman Marc Spilker.
Rooney was named Corient CEO in 2017. Previously, he was CEO of Freestone Capital Management.
Corient was formed in 2015 by a group of former Merrill Lynch advisors who managed $3.3 billion in client assets for the wirehouse’s Private Banking and Investment Group. Chris Copps, Gordon Hassenplug, Darren Henderson, Michael Phelps, Alex Stimpson, Jon Tenney and Greg Walters worked together in two teams at Merrill in its private banking and investment group.
In July 2019, Merchant reportedly partnered with Fidelity to provide loans to RIAs.
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