CI Financial Buying $5.2B Silicon Valley RIA
The acquisition of Portola Partners Group is expected to close later this month.
CI Financial signed a deal to acquire Portola Partners Group, a Menlo Park, California-based RIA in the heart of Silicon Valley that manages $5.2 billion in assets, CI said Monday.
Portola was co-founded in 2020 by Steve Rehmus, Zack Herlick, Justin Mandly, KC Corkery, Cathy Pitts, Jeff Lin and Susan Foster, according to the RIA’s website. Prior to founding Portola, each of them worked together for several years at national wealth management firm Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth.
The transaction represents the 17th outright acquisition by CI this year and its 21st when also factoring in acquisitions made by a subsidiary of the Toronto-based wealth and investment management firm.
The latest M&A announcement by CI comes as it continues to expand its U.S. footprint. Other recent U.S. acquisitions by CI included Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Radnor Financial Advisors, which manages $2.6 billion in assets and was announced in June. That transaction recently closed, CI said Sept. 1.
Following the expected close of the Portola acquisition later this month, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions, and any other outstanding acquisitions, CI’s U.S. wealth management assets will reach about $82 billion, it said. Its total global assets are expected to reach about $263 billion.
With the Portola transaction, CI will expand its presence into the San Francisco Bay Area, CI said, noting this is an “important region of technology-driven wealth creation.” Many Portola clients live in the area and include technology company founders, executives and venture capitalists, CI said.
Portola specializes in “meeting the distinct needs of ultra-high-net-worth families” and provides “comprehensive investment and wealth planning solutions to respected families with complex, unique requirements,” CI said. The RIA “developed substantial expertise at the intersection of investments and tax, wealth transfer, estate and charitable planning,” according to CI.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“The Portola team and model will be valuable in fostering the development of our ultra-high-net-worth offering across CI Private Wealth,” according to Kurt MacAlpine, CI CEO.
“CI’s quality and scale will allow us to broaden and deepen the array of best-in-class services we offer to discerning families with sophisticated needs and wants,” according to Herlick.
Alston & Bird served as legal advisor to Portola and Berkshire Global Advisors served as its financial advisor. CI’s legal advisor was Hogan Lovells.
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