TAMP GeoWealth Buys First Ascent

GeoWealth is acquiring First Ascent Asset Management in a deal that will enable GeoWealth to serve “growth-minded” registered investment advisors of all sizes with a full-service turnkey asset management platform, the company said Thursday.

Combined platform assets will total $21 billion, with First Ascent bringing about $1.5 billion, a GeoWealth spokesperson told ThinkAdvisor.

As part of the deal, First Ascent will migrate to the GeoWealth platform and “leverage its purpose-built, fully integrated technology platform,” GeoWealth said.

Denver-based First Ascent will maintain its brand identity and operate as an independent subsidiary of Chicago-based GeoWealth. First Ascent’s investment offering, service model and flat-fee schedule will also remain unchanged.

But First Ascent’s advisor clients will now have access to expanded capabilities that include back-office efficiencies and flexible, customizable unified managed account offerings.

First Ascent will operate as an independent subsidiary of GeoWealth, and its existing team will “remain in place to support advisors and manage portfolios that are appropriately tailored to meet clients’ needs,” GeoWealth said.

The deal is “expected to close within the next 30 days,” the spokesperson said. Terms weren’t immediately disclosed.

GeoWealth’s purchase of First Ascent also “reflects its continued commitment to delivering a flexible, customizable and user-friendly platform designed to help advisors better serve their clients and achieve greater efficiency within their practice,” the company said.

“First Ascent’s boutique offering will further bolster GeoWealth’s service model, enabling the firm to expand focus to serving RIAs ranging from growth-oriented state-registered firms to multi-office national brands,” according to GeoWealth.

The purchase “represents a natural alignment between two companies that believe that a tech-forward approach is the way of the future and are unified in their mission to modernize the TAMP business model for the benefit of advisors and their clients,” said Colin Falls, GeoWealth CEO and president.

“By combining GeoWealth’s robust technology with First Ascent’s full-service approach, we’re able to serve the broader community of independent advisors,” Falls said in a statement. “Whether it’s a breakaway firm or a multibillion-dollar RIA, we can provide a seamless experience that allows them to provide best-in-class client service and scale their businesses on their own terms.”

GeoWealth supports advisor-managed models and a suite of third-party models from asset managers, allowing advisors to offer customizable investment solutions to support a variety of use cases.

Over the coming months, GeoWealth and First Ascent will identify “additional opportunities to extend more flexibility and choice to their shared client base,” according to GeoWealth.

“The acquisition is the first of many steps the firms plan to take as it relates to deepening their services and providing value-add for RIAs,” GeoWealth said.

“When we first met the GeoWealth team, I remarked that First Ascent should have been built on top of its integrated technology — that’s how seamless and user-friendly it is,” according to Scott MacKillop, First Ascent CEO.

“First Ascent was designed to maximize the benefits of the TAMP business model for fiduciary advisors,” he added.

(Pictured: Colin Falls, left, and Scott MacKillop)