US in the news: PE firm buys stake in Sequoia Financial

A round-up of people moves and M&A deals across North America

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M&A

Sequoia Financial Group

Private equity firm Valeas Capital Partners has agreed to acquire a minority stake in the wealth manager.

Under terms of the agreement, Valeas is committing more than $200m (£179m, €205m) to support Sequoia’s strategic growth plans.

The transaction is expected to close on 31 October 2022.

San Francisco-based Valeas will help accelerate the existing expansion strategy pursued by Akron, Ohio-based Sequoia over the past several years.

Valeas’ strategic investment in Sequoia comes two years after New York-based Kudu Investment Management, a provider of capital solutions to asset and wealth managers, made a minority investment in July 2020.

Sequoia remains a majority employee-owned firm.

Rob Little and Ed Woiteshek, the co-founders of Valeas, will serve on the Sequoia board of directors upon closing of the transaction.

People moves

Private Advisor Group

Frank Smith will succeed Robert Moore as the firm’s chief executive in mid-January, as part of a long-planned transition.

Smith will now serve as president and chief executive of Private Advisor Group.

UBS Wealth Management USA

The wealth manager has hired a five-person team, managing a combined $1bn billion in client assets.

The team join the firm in Providence, Rhode Island from Morgan Stanley and is led by private wealth advisers Joseph Tamburini, Nancy Pasquariello and Nathan Hickney.

First Republic Bank

The private bank and wealth management company has hired a five-member team led by Paul Vasady-Kovacs.

Vasady-Kovacs was named managing director and wealth manager.

Before joining First Republic, he was a managing director, senior financial adviser and senior portfolio manager at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.

Atlantic Union Bank Wealth Management

The wealth manager has named Mitch York as chief investment officer.

York was most recently chief investment officer for Concord Asset Management, and head of Edelman Financial Services’ investment division.

RBC Wealth Management

The wealth manager has hired a financial adviser team to its Fargo office from Wells Fargo.

The FIT Wealth Management Group is composed of:

  • Chris Meier, managing director and financial adviser;
  • Chad Stark, managing director and financial adviser;
  • Byron Trochman, managing director and financial adviser;
  • Brett Winkelman, vice president and financial adviser;
  • Sonja Anderson, senior business associate; and
  • Chris Kollitz, registered client associate.

Raymond James

Financial advisers Wilson Thannisch and Mark Thannisch have joined the financial services firm.

The father-son adviser duo, along with client service associate Caitlin Kornblum, operate as Thannisch Wealth Management of Raymond James. They join from Wells Fargo.

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