Constellation Wealth Partners, the private equity firm founded by former Emigrant Partners CEO Karl Heckenberg focusing on wealth managers, has closed its inaugural fund with more than $1 billion in capital commitments.
The Constellation Wealth Capital Fund includes partners ranging from insurance companies and endowments to foundations, asset managers and fund-of-funds. According to the firm, the fund was oversubscribed, and Heckenberg stressed the “significant market opportunity” in working with wealth management firms at “inflection points” in their growth paths.
“We believe our deep sector knowledge, experience and ability to provide tailored capital and advisory solutions make us an ideal partner for wealth managers focused on building profitable businesses over the long term,” Heckenberg said.
Heckenberg founded Constellation in late 2023, looking to take minority stakes in growing wealth management firms nationwide, offering fund investors risk-adjusted returns.
Constellation offers growth capital for growing firms organically and inorganically, as well as additional services to boost and scale their performance and recruit and retain talent.
According to John Langston, founder of Republic Capital Group, Constellation seeks longer-term investments in firms needing relatively smaller bursts of cash. This fills a gap left by large private equity firms, which typically write bigger checks. According to SEC filings, Constellation’s business model entails investing between $25 million and $200 million in firms managing between $1 billion and $200 billion in client assets.
Since forming in late 2023, Constellation Wealth has made eight investments out of its first fund, including its first in AlphaCore Wealth Advisory, as well as AITi Tiedemann Global, Avior Wealth Management, CV Advisors, Lido Advisors, Perigon Wealth Management and Requisite Capital Management.
Additionally, the firm announced earlier this month that it had taken a minority stake in Cresset Asset Management. Constellation invested $150 million, representing less than 10% of Cresset’s total equity. The firm expected to use the funds to improve its technology and recruit advisors. (The firm remained majority-owned by employees and clients.)
