Republic Capital Group was named the “Boutique Investment Banking Firm of the Year” by The M&A Advisor during its 22nd annual awards gala in New York City last week.
The firm also received the award for “M&A Deal of the Year” across all transaction categories between $100 million and $250 million for advising Creative Planning on its purchase of BerganKDV—the largest reported acquisition of a CPA firm by a wealth management firm.
"It's an honor to be recognized for our work," said RCG Managing Partner John Langston, crediting the firm's "great clients" for its success. He said it was especially fun to hear his partner, "thoughtful and reserved Peter Nesvold" let out a whoop when their name was called.
RCG was also a finalist for "deal of the year" in a different price category for its involvement in Parallel’s acquisition of Autus Investment Management—a three-way transaction that swapped out a minority investor for a majority owner.
Founded in 1998, The M&A Advisor is a trade group for corporate finance and M&A professionals. The annual awards recognize significant deals across industries, from large companies to middle market firms.
In 2022, RCG advised on $52 billion in transacted assets—about 18% of the total tracked by Fidelity Institutional. The firm is set to exceed $100 billion this year, including private equity investments, according to Nesvold, which is almost half of the $215 billion in purchased assets Fidelity has recorded through October.
With a focus on serving asset and wealth managers, RCG moved its headquarters from Houston to NYC earlier this month to tap into the region’s wealth of financial services talent and expertise.
Founded by Langston in 2015, RCG hopes to increase the 10-person team—half of whom are partners—to 13 in the coming year. A little further down the road, Langston and Nesvold have said they expect to transition into more of a merchant banking role for clients, helping with financing and private investments and potentially even investing their own funds.