As a result of the acquisition, the Georgia firms will create a business with combined AuM north of $13 billion – a further example of the regional transactions that continue to work through the industry.

Atlanta-based Homrich Berg, overseeing more than $10 billion of assets under management, has boosted its local footprint through adding $1.5 billion AuM firm Oakbridge Partners. 

The addition of Oakbridge, an RIA based in Buckhead, will take Homrich Berg's AuM to more than $13 billion once the deal is fully complete, the firm said. 

The financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close at the end of May, were not disclosed.

Such transactions continue to be brisk in the North American wealth management industry, driven by a desire from buyers for economies of scale and market reach as regulatory costs and client expectations rise. Some sellers are nearing retirement and want to exit their business in an orderly way; others cannot shoulder increased costs alone and prefer to partner with other firms, or sell up completely.

The sheer volume of deals involving RIAs – and to a lesser extent, multi-family offices – has prompted worries that the process may not reap the rewards which some acquirers seek. See an analysis here from regular FWR contributor Charles Paikert.

“We hit a critical point in our growth and had to make an important decision to either add infrastructure – including management, investment solutions, and technology – or to partner with a firm with those capabilities,” Oakbridge principal William Cohen said. “We have great respect for what our friends down the road at HB have built, and are excited to join the firm and be part of the firm’s growth trajectory in the Southeast.”

Warren Wick II, William Cohen, Jennifer Storey, Eric Toole, and Brandon Downs will join the firm as principals along with the rest of the team from Oakbridge Partners. The advisors of Oakbridge Partners, a firm founded in 1974, serve more than 480 households across 19 different states. The team will remain in its office near HB’s Buckhead office until Homrich Berg’s office expansion project at Three Alliance Center is complete in 2023.