Boston Private Bank said Monday that it has formally integrated KLS Professional Advisors Group, a New York-based registered investment advisor it bought in 2004, into its wealth management unit, Boston Private Wealth.
The company said the combined firm “becomes one of the largest registered investment advisors in the United States as measured by client assets.”
The company said that integrating KLS is part and parcel of a “strategic growth plan that leverages the competencies of each organization to create a more powerful, efficient and effective financial services firm.”
CEO Anthony DeChellis, who joined the firm in November 2018, said that “KLS is known for providing exceptional client value to attorneys and other professional service partners. … Coupled with Boston Private’s resources, [it] creates a more complete offering for our clients, and provides a platform for growth in New York.”
New York is considered a key market for Boston Private, along with Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and Palm Beach, Fla. The firm estimates that these markets hold a combined $6.8 trillion in high-net-worth wealth.
DeChellis told WealthManagement.com in June that he wants to grow the assets under management of Boston Private’s wealth management business from $16.1 billion today to $50 billion by 2022. Key to the plan will be recruiting an additional 100 advisors from larger firms who are looking for a less bureaucratic, more boutiquelike environment.
Gary Sica, senior managing director of KLS, will continue to lead the New York-based team in partnership with Bill Woodson, Boston Private’s head of Wealth Advisory and Family Office Services.
KLS has been an affiliate partner of Boston Private since 2004, when parent Boston Private Financial Holdings bought an 81% ownership stake in the RIA. Boston Private acquired the remaining 19% of KLS in 2010.
The legal process of merging Boston Private Wealth and KLS was completed on September 1. KLS is operating under the name “KLS, A Division of Boston Private.”
