Louis Diamond Quoted
By Oisin Breen
As part of a single sweep of 2018 transactions, a mezzanine RIA in Steel City purchased Cantor Fitzgerald’s first, best and last RIA asset and, in the process, became the advisor to the area’s largest employer’s 401(k) plan.
D.B. Root & Co. LLC is now a ballpark $5.2 billion player with a vastly enlarged presence in the retirement business. The AUM comes with an asterisk because about $4.5 billion is still to be paid for next January.
What’s the deal?
“In the past, the number of what we would call wealth credential buyers — meaning they have a value proposition, access to capital, can structure deals and know how to do them — was relatively limited,” says Diamond. “With these private equity acquirers, and the increasing capabilities of the HighTowers, Focuses, and Dynastys of this world, this [RIAs making big M&A moves] is definitely something that we’re going to see continue trending.”