Concurrent buys $5.4B Spire in first RIA platform deal
What's the deal? Concurrent Investment AdvisorsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Tampa, Florida-based hybrid registered investment advisor (RIA), is acquiring the $5.4 billion Spire Investment PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, its first purchase of another RIA platform. The all deal terms were undisclosed. The move lifts Concurrent's assets under management (AUM) to $28.6 billion, up from $16.8 billion at the start of the year.
What do they do? Both firms run 1099 independent contractor platforms, where advisor teams use central technology and support while keeping their own brands and balance sheets. McLean, Virginia-based Spire, founded in 1997, brings more than 30 advisor teams and an in-house succession program.
Why now? Since breaking away from Raymond JamesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in 2022, Concurrent has steadily added firms, often taking minority stakes, and launched an external RIA minority investment program last year. The Spire deal marks a shift from building piece by piece to acquiring whole platforms.
What's the endgame? "We've got ambitious growth goals, and this is a new frontier for us," chief executive officer Nate Lenz said. "Rather than doing it brick-by-brick, we are going out to get a like-minded group of advisor teams." Lenz said Concurrent will seek more such deals.
Lenz said Spire's similar model made it a fit: "Looking at Spire was kind of like looking in a mirror." Spire founder and chief executive officer David Blisk said advisors "wanted the technology and resources to keep driving their growth and relevance to their clients."
What changes? Spire's advisors will gain access to Concurrent equity after one year and can tap its minority investment offering once onboarded. Concurrent added BNY PershingDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → as a custodian to match Spire's options, joining Goldman SachsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, SchwabDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Fidelity.
Market expansion: The deal gives Concurrent its first office in Northern Virginia, extends its footprint to 33 states, and adds about 17 home-office employees, bringing the total to roughly 111. Concurrent is majority-owned by its employees, with a minority stake held by Merchant Investment ManagementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
The signal: RIA consolidation keeps accelerating, with platform-on-platform deals becoming the faster path to scale. Comparable moves — such as Wealth EnhancementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'US$16.1B deal with RWA PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — show acquirers increasingly buying advisor networks wholesale rather than one firm at a time.
Read more: wealthmanagement.com
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