RIA consolidator Cerity Partners has acquired Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough, a $5 billion registered investment advisory firm in San Francisco, a move that expands Cerity’s West Coast footprint and brings its total client assets to more than $40 billion under advisement.
The B|O|S team, led by CEO Kevin Dorwin and President and Chief Operating Officer Carol Benz, will become part of Cerity. The RIA has also reorganized its leadership structure as a result, naming Benz its chief people officer, a new role designed to oversee the recruitment, development, education, engagement, diversity and growth of Cerity’s people and culture. B|O|S principal David Newson will become chief marketing officer of Cerity. Dorwin will become Cerity’s San Francisco market leader.
B|O|S was founded in 1985 and serves high-net-worth individuals and families in the Bay Area, providing comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and trust and estate planning.
"The merger allows us to enhance our clients' experience and broaden the breadth and depth of our expertise,” said Cerity Partners CEO and President Kurt Miscinski, in a statement. “It also significantly deepens our presence in and commitment to San Francisco and Silicon Valley, a region that continues to create meaningful wealth for many individuals and families."
Cerity, which was founded in 2009, is backed by private equity firm Lightyear Capital, which bought a 50% stake in the consolidator in 2018 from Emigrant Bank. Cerity has been slowly amassing a sizeable talent pool.
In 2020, it acquired $5 billion in assets under management from four acquisitions. In January 2020, it acquired Los Angeles RIA Sullivan & Serqitz and Chicago-based EMM Wealth. In December, Cerity announced it had added two firms, Algonquin Advisors in Greenwich, Conn. and Worldview Wealth Advisors in San Francisco that pushed its assets up to $27 billion.
Earlier this year, Cerity announced its acquisition of Bainco International Investors, a Boston asset manager and wealth planning firm with $1.1 billion in assets under management.
In a recent RIA Edge podcast, Claire O'Keefe, partner and head of corporate development at Cerity, reveals how the firm was able to become one of the top RIAs for individuals, businesses and nonprofits, and how they have fostered long-term, sustainable growth for their business.
