Columbus, Ohio, firms combine to expand investment platform for investors. New Albany, Ohio-based Custer Capital has acquired an equity interest in Columbus, Ohio-based Level Partners, a provider of equity-portfolio management services to banks, pension funds, endowments, and RIAs.

Details of the transaction weren't disclosed.

Little guys

Level Partners become an exclusive sub-advisor to Custer Capital's RIA Custer Management. Level Partners' founders, Chris Henneforth and Dave Raeuchle, have joined Custer Management's investment committee and are now joint managers to clients of Custer Management.

"Level Partners has a unique approach to the financial markets that is behavioral, fundamental, and technical," says Custer Capital's president and CEO Bill Custer. "This new relationship will continue to provide our clients customized wealth-building strategies using our proprietary four-step investment process along with three new stock portfolio products: large cap, small cap, and technical value."

Custer Capital also makes oil and gas, real estate, and venture capital will continue to be included as asset classes for the portfolios."

Henneforth, who founded Level Partners with Raeuchle in 2005, says his firm's combination with Custer Capital adds up to the only Columbus-area firm that gives private and institutional clients one-stop access to public, private, and alternative investments.

Custer Management had a bit more than $47 million under management at the time of its latest ADV filing with SEC, mainly for high-net-worth individuals. Level Partners managed about $3 million, primarily for private investors that don't qualify as high-net-worth, according to the same source. -FWR

Purchase reproduction rights to this article.