Family Office & RIA Weekly Roundup 

“The growth slowdown has been driven by inflation and price shocks—as they fade in the near term, that should allow growth to accelerate"

Aneta Markowska, Jefferies

 

In a recent report, Insider outlines Avy Stein of Cresset Asset Management's unique path to building an industry giant and what lies ahead for their future growth plans. Since founding the company less than five years ago, Stein and his partner Eric Becker have grown the firm to more than $27B in managed assets with a team of over 300 employees. The two executives gave a glimpse behind what has helped them get to this point, including recruiting top-talent private bankers, offering greater access to private investments and funding acquisitions by leveraging their personal capital. Cresset left open the possibility for future private funding but was adamant that the group will never sell a majority stake.

 

Since the bull market following the Covid-19 pandemic, no group has benefitted more than the ultra-rich, especially the Top 100 richest Americans. Family asset makeup and availability of investible funds played a large part in the lopsided gains. According to the Federal Reserve, "stocks and mutual funds make up more than a third of the fortunes of the top 1%, allowing them to largely benefit from the gains witnessed during the pandemic recovery. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, designed to track the 100 richest people in America, has grown by more than one trillion since its inception eight years ago. However, recent volatility has sent public equities vastly lower, causing the group to lose nearly $622B since November. Dorothy Gambrell of Bloomberg describes the challenges those in lower classes face:

“Those on the other half of the wealth spectrum, whose biggest asset is typically their home, didn’t have the same opportunity to fortify their finances going into what many think will be a Fed-induced recession...Fed data showed that last year—for the first time in at least three decades—America’s middle class controlled a smaller share of wealth than the top 1% of earners."

Private Funding Pulse Check

 

• Unstoppable Domains, an NFT Domain provider, has raised $65M in its Series A Round that included single-family office Alchemy Ventures
  
  
• Germany-based Salvia has taken part in a $130.8M Series A follow-on deal with IQM, a programmatic media and audience intelligence platform
  
  
• Breyer Capital engaged in a Series C investment with Cleerly, a digital healthcare company, totaling $192M
  
  
• Michael Bloomberg's single-family office, Willett Advisors, finalizes on a $160M Series D deal with Carmot Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company
  
  
• Schooner Capital closes on a $8.1M Series A deal with Boston, MA-based dental plan insurance company, Bento

https://www.fintrx.com/

 

Chicago, IL-based RIA and insurance firm Arete Wealth has announced a major transaction, recruiting a branch of 66 registered representatives who together manage more than $2.5B in client assets. Fincadia Group, elected to leave National Securities Corp. and become a member of the firm's business umbrella. Among the leading factors driving the deal was Arete's "leading position in alternative investments". Following the transaction, Arete Wealth now manages $8.5B in assets across 318 registered representatives and 97 offices within the United States.

“When we realized there was an opportunity to recruit this large group of productive, highly respected financial advisors, we took immediate action...The addition of Fincadia Group, coming shortly after last year's successful purchase of Center Street, demonstrates Arete Wealth is determined to continue expanding at an industry-leading pace"

 

Louis Diamond, Diamond Consultants