Santa Monica, California-based Abacus Wealth Partners, which manages $3.8 billion in client assets, is merging with San Francisco-based, social justice-aligned investment firm Robasciotti & Philipson.
The merged RIAs will now operate under the Abacus name as part of the transaction, which adds 115 households representing $130 million in assets to Abacus. Also, Rachel Robasciotti and Maya Philipson will serve on the Abacus team as director of advocacy engagement and strategic advisor, respectively. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Robasciotti (who appears in the above photo) founded the firm in Northern California to help financial advisors better represent and address the unique needs of a diverse client base — especially those most impacted by social inequities.
She also is a co-founder of the impact investing platform Return on Investment & Social Equity, or RISE, which helped form the Force the Issue project in September 2019 to end mandatory arbitration for sexual harassment.
R&P is majority-owned and operated by women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Separate from their roles at Abacus, Robasciotti and Philipson will continue to run R&P's sister investment firm, Adasina Social Capital, which launched in 2020 to serve as a bridge between financial markets and racial, gender, economic and climate justice movements. The Adasina Social Justice All Cap Global ETF (JSTC) began trading in December.
"At its very core, Abacus is a team of individuals who are deeply aligned with our values and this influence is apparent throughout their entire approach to investment management and financial planning," according to Philipson.
