Hightower’s Fairport Acquires $500M FMA AdvisoryHightower’s Fairport Acquires $500M FMA Advisory

Fairport Wealth, a Hightower advisory firm in Cleveland, has acquired FMA Advisory, a wealth management firm in Harrisburg, Pa., with $500 million in assets under management. The deal, facilitated by Hightower, will bring Fairport’s total AUM to $3.9 billion.

This marks Fairport’s second transaction, following its merger with Leonetti & Associates, an existing Hightower firm in Buffalo Grove, Ill., in 2019. Fairport, led by managing partners Heather Ettinger and Kenneth Coleman, works with executives, business owners and other affluent individuals. The firm also specializes in women and clients experiencing life transitions, such as a new job, divorce, retirement, etc. The firm will have 48 employees, including 25 advisors, once the deal closes.

Forty-year-old FMA, run by founder and President Peter J. LaBella and managing partner John J. Klobusicky, serves business owners, executives, retirees, professional athletes, rising professionals, corporate retirement plans, nonprofits and charitable organizations. 

“As we looked to our next stage of growth, we recognized that teaming up with Fairport Wealth and Hightower would provide us with the human and operational resources we need to provide distinctive, attentive service now and in the decades to come,” LaBella said in a statement.

For Hightower’s 118 advisory firms that want to do M&A, Hightower will help with sourcing, valuation, deal structuring, due diligence, legal and regulatory, pre- and post-close integration, and capital resources for subacquisition transactions.

The FMA deal follows Hightower’s announcement earlier this week that it will buy a stake in Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management, a $1 billion registered investment advisor in Punta Gorda, Fla.