Curi Capital, a registered investment advisor in Chicago with more than $14 billion in assets under advisement, has agreed to sell a majority stake to the Vistria Group, a middle-market private investment firm also in Chicago.
Curi said in a news release that Vistria will become an ownership partner alongside Curi Capital’s employee owners and existing shareholders, including Curi Holding and Wealth Partners Capital Group, when the deal closes as expected late next month.
Curi didn’t disclose terms of the transaction, including the size of Vistria’smajority stake.
Curi Capital CEO Dimitri Eliopoulos told Financial Advisor that Vistria will hold the majority of board of director seats as the current management team, including himself, continues to steer the company’s operations day-to-day.
“Today we have about 80 employees who are owners in our firm [and] that’s going to expand in the coming quarters and years,” he said.
Curi said management expects to use the added capital to fuel its strategic M&A strategy, expanding in existing markets and entering new ones. Wealth Partners, which bought a minority stake in Curi in March, will continue to play a “leadership role” in the firm’s acquisition strategy, according to the release.
Curi Capital merged with RMB Capital, a physician-focused practice launched in 2005, in early 2024, creating an RIA with more than $11.3 billion in assets. Curi now works with high-net-worth individuals and families, business owners and entrepreneurs and medical professionals and healthcare executives.
Curi also has a family office practice through which it provides multigenerational wealth planning, investment advisory, tax planning and preparation, reporting, and administrative services, according to the release.
Eliopoulos told FA that, with the support of its new private equity partner, Curi will be “more intentional” rather than opportunistic in its acquisition strategy.
While Curi has clients in states such as Florida, it is looking to establish a presence in markets such as Atlanta, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Washington, D.C., said Eliopoulos.
He added that “we don’t have any letters of intent (for acquisitions or partnerships) at the moment, but we’re excited about that coming to fruition in the quarters ahead.”
The CEO told FA he expects Curi to increase its client base to 15,000 to 20,000, up from the more than 3,500 clients his team works with now, and for assets under management to more than double to $30 million to $50 billion.
“We’re doing a tremendous job for our current clients and we’re getting referrals from those current clients,” Eliopoulos said. “We’ve built out a robust organic growth team to help us with new client acquisition, and we’ve done some great M&A partnerships.”
Besides strategic M&A, Curi said the investment from Vistria will also fuel Curi’s strategic initiatives across several key areas, such as technology advancement and talent acquisition and development.
“From our first conversations with Vistria, it was clear we shared a common philosophy about serving clients, supporting employees, and building a business for the long-term,” Eliopoulos said in the release. “With their support, we’re positioning the firm to grow and lead the wealth management industry into the future.”
The official also told FA that he chose Vistria, in part, because of the success the private equity firm has demonstrated helping other RIAs in the financial services industry. It has worked with companies across wealth management, retirement services, employee benefits, and insurance, according to the release. Vistria oversees $17 billion in AUM, according to its LinkedIbn profile.
“There are many great private equity partners out in the country,” Eliopoulos told FA. But “I’ve known the principals at Vistria for more than two decades, even before Vistria existed.”
Boris Rapoport, Vistra’s senior partner and co-head of financial services, said Curi’s “ability to serve clients across the wealth spectrum, from a dedicated mass affluent offering to a family office practice built over decades for multi-generational families, is exactly the kind of durable, full-service platform we look to back.”
William Blair served as financial advisor to Vistria, while Winston Taylor LLP served as legal counsel, according to the release. Curi and Curi Capital used Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton as legal counsel.