NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United Capital Financial Advisers LLC (“United Capital”), the country’s first and largest financial life management firm, today announces its expansion into the Quad Cities and Atlanta areas with the acquisition of Irongate International, a registered investment adviser (RIA) in Moline, Ill., and Peachtree Investment Advisors, an RIA in Atlanta, Ga. The two firms will join the United Capital team and use United Capital’s groundbreaking financial life management technology to offer an improved, modern client experience and drive growth goals. Together, the acquisitions represent more than $800 million in combined assets under management (AUM).
“It’s gratifying to welcome forward-looking firms like Irongate and Peachtree to our team,” said Matt Brinker, United Capital’s chief business development officer. “We’re eager to leverage our resources to provide the high net worth, multi-generational households they serve with a truly indispensable client experience.”
Established in 2001, Irongate manages $455 million in assets and serves 56 households throughout the United States, many of them second- or even third-generation, HNW clients with a typical account size of more than $5 million in assets. Irongate’s nine employees will join the United Capital team, with Tony Carpita, Ted Baker and Tait Johnson serving as managing directors. Founder Patrick Trimble will also stay with the team as it transitions to United Capital.
Irongate chose a strategic partnership with United Capital to meet the challenges of their growing scale, the complexity of their clients, and increasing back office needs that pulled the firm’s team away from client-facing activity. Tools like MoneyMind and HonestConversations will add an invaluable, financial life dimension to Irongate’s client relationships, and obtaining them through the acquisition process was a more responsible use of Irongate’s resources than tackling the significant cost of developing in-house technology, said COO Tony Carpita.
“When we looked at where the industry is headed, we knew we needed to adapt to be responsible financial stewards for our clients,” Carpita said. “United Capital is on the cutting edge of behavioral finance technology that may help create enormous value with our next-generation households. This deal gives us the resources to scale up and spend more time serving our clients.”
Peachtree, situated in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, was established in 2006 and serves 100 HNW households with a focus on comprehensive wealth management. Peachtree’s four employees will join United Capital, with Michael Wolf, Wesley French and Mark Stancil serving as managing directors, bringing with them $353.3 million in managed assets.
Peachtree’s culture of looking at the big picture of their clients’ financial lives resonated with United Capital. The firm’s three partners, all over age 50, joined United Capital to secure the succession of their business and to leverage United Capital’s bench strength, vision and technology. Armed with these resources, Peachtree’s advisors can stay engaged with the families they serve in the long run.
“United Capital is an innovative company with a financial life management focus that we believe is years ahead of the competition. In terms of its technology and vision for the industry’s future, United Capital is head and shoulders above everyone else. We couldn’t have built this on our own,” Wolf said.
“These acquisitions validate our vision of financial life management,” said Joe Duran, Founder and CEO of United Capital. “Irongate and Peachtree understand the best and greatest use of their time is to help their clients come to grips with the highly complex, big picture issues that touch every aspect of their financial lives. We look forward to helping them live richly.”
About United Capital Financial Partners
United Capital Financial Partners, Inc., the parent company of United Capital Financial Advisers, LLC (“United Capital”) and its consulting affiliate, is an independent financial life management firm, ranked #2 in the Barron’s 2018 list of Top 40 Independent Financial Advisors. United Capital is a registered investment advisor (RIA) offering clients objective advice and an open architecture platform that enables a wide array of investment management solutions tailored specifically to client needs. Today, United Capital has approximately $23 billion in assets under management and 95 offices nationwide. For more information, please visit www.unitedcp.com.
