Reverence to Take Stake in $16B RIA SEIA

News August 18, 2022 at 11:46 AM
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Reverence Capital Partners — the private-equity firm that owns 75% of Advisor Group — is planning to take an unspecified equity stake in Signature Estate & Investment Advisors, a Los Angeles-based RIA that manages over $16 billion in client assets, the companies said Wednesday.

In connection with the recapitalization, SEIA will work with the newly formed broker-dealer Signature Estate Securities.

The equity investment from Reverence is "part of SEIA's long-term growth and continuity strategy," according to the companies. The Reverence partnership, meanwhile, "will provide the capital to enable SEIA to invest in the business while continuing to enhance the level of service and product offerings the firm provides," they added.

Following the close of the transactions, Brian Holmes will remain the CEO and president of SEIA and SIA. The firm's founding partners, management team, advisor teams and employees will all "remain in place, and the brand will remain Signature Estate & Investment Advisors," SEIA said.

At closing, SEIA will have broader equity ownership across its partners, advisors and employees than it did before the transactions, the companies said — with advisors maintaining full ownership of their practices.

The deal will help enable SEIA advisors to offer RIA and BD services to clients via a unified wealth management platform and "will result in greater access to alternative investments, elevated client-facing technology, and more comprehensive family office services," the companies said.

In addition to Los Angeles, SEIA has four other locations in California — in Newport Beach, Pasadena, Redondo Beach and San Mateo — as well as offices in Beaverton, Oregon; Denver; Houston; and Tysons Corner, Virginia.

Meanwhile, SEIA's turnkey asset management platform, Signature Investment Advisors, will now be available to advisors across the independent BD and RIA community, the firms noted.

Advisor Group will continue to support SIA as a strategist on its wealth management platform, the companies also said. As part of its continued partnership with SIA, Advisor Group will also "provide strategic capital investment alongside Reverence Capital to support the next phase of SEIA's growth," the companies said. (Reverence acquired a majority stake in Advisor Group in 2019.)

The "multi-faceted" strategic partnership is targeted at "bolstering SEIA's client services across a spectrum of distribution channels, significantly increasing investor reach and impact," they said.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022, subject to customary regulatory and other approvals, according to the companies.

Echelon Partners acted as financial advisor, while Ballard Spahr served as legal counsel to SEIA. Kirkland and Ellis served as legal counsel to Reverence. Other terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

"Over the last 25 years we have maintained an unwavering focus on our clients," according to Holmes. "Our strategic partnership with Reverence Capital Partners is a significant milestone that signals our continued commitment to building a world-class wealth management platform for our clients," he said in a statement.

Holmes and his team have "built one of the most successful and rapidly growing firms in the RIA industry," according to Milton Berlinski, Reverence managing partner. The SEIA management team "shares our vision of exceptional client service and culture," he said in a statement.

To date, Reverence has invested $7.3 billion across its funds, co-investment vehicles and investment partners.

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