CI Financial to Buy $4.7B RIA in Atlanta

CI Financial is acquiring Brightworth, an Atlanta-based registered investment advisor with about $4.7 billion in client assets.

The news comes less than a week after the Canadian financial services firm said it planned to purchase Barrett Asset Management of New York, which manages $2.5 billion in assets.

"We're thrilled that the dynamic team at Brightworth has chosen to join CI," Kurt MacAlpine, CEO of CI, said in a statement. "They … have developed expert teams offering highly tailored services to affluent client segments such as executives, business owners and dentists."

With Brightworth and other deals, CI Financial expects to have about $55 billion in U.S. wealth management assets.

"We are excited to join CI and believe we have found the ideal partner and platform to best serve our clients' growing needs and provide greater professional opportunities for our employees," according to Brightworth CEO Ray Padrón.

"As a leading firm in our region, we look forward to joining CI's dynamic network of firms to help build a leading integrated private wealth platform that will influence the future direction of wealth management in North America and globally," Padrón added.

As part of the deal, Emigrant Partners, which is part of New York Private Bank & Trust, is selling its minority interest in Brightworth to CI Financial.

"We have had an incredible experience with Brightworth and look forward to continuing to collaborate with CI strategically," Emigrant Partners CEO Karl Heckenberg said in a statement.

"CI has become a dominant player as a majority acquirer, and the relationship between CI and our parent, New York Private Bank & Trust, is an exciting development for our business. The U.S. wealth management space is growing quickly and establishing a relationship with CI is a natural progression as Emigrant looks to expand our offering," Heckenberg said.

The Brightworth transaction is CI's 16th purchase since entering the U.S. RIA market in January 2020.

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