MAI Capital Management, a registered investment advisor serving high-net-worth individuals, families, professional athletes and entertainers, has acquired Pareto Wealth Management. The acquisition adds talent to MAI’s financial planning and wealth teams at its headquarters in Independence, Ohio.
Based in Cleveland, Pareto provides financial planning and wealth management services to high-net-worth clients. The firm was previously a division of McDonald Partners Wealth Advisory Group. Sean Kriak and Joe Palko, who led Pareto, are joining MAI along with their entire team, and each will assume the role of managing partner at their new firm.
“Our team’s top focus is on delivering a superior client experience,” Kriak said in a statement. “Partnering with MAI will allow us to amplify these efforts, bringing expanded tools and resources for our clients, while affording us more time to focus on meeting our clients’ goals and needs.”
MAI Managing Partner Rick Buoncore said that potential for growth is one of the things that drew them to MAI.
“Part of our model is that we provide this infrastructure not only with technology and support but with some alternatives that give clients a better opportunity for success than they might otherwise have in a small firm,” he said. In addition to advice, MAI also offers insurance and asset management services with access to more than a dozen private funds.
Terms of the transaction, which closed on Aug. 9, were not disclosed.
The deal represents the RIA aggregator’s fourth transaction in 2022, according to Fidelity Investments, following the addition of Intersect Capital in July. It is MAI’s eighth acquisition since it was itself majority acquired by Galway Holdings in September 2021, which better positioned the firm to step up its M&A activity while broadening its client service offerings and organic growth opportunities.
“MAI’s growth objectives are rooted in its mission to best serve its clients and fortify its team of quality and forward-thinking professionals,” Galway Executive Chairman John Hahn said.
In early 2022, Buoncore spoke with WealthManagement.com regarding MAI’s plans for continued growth, which included building out existing regional footprints, as well as adding 401(k) services and a trust company this year.
On Wednesday, he said that MAI is on track to complete as many as 13 additional transactions before the end of the year, 11 of which will build out existing geographical locations. He also said that he expects to announce some news on the 401(k) front as soon as next month, but finding a viable trust company has been a slower process.
“Eventually, our vision is to be kind of the full-service holistic approach where, no matter what a client needs, we can provide it. Whether we get it this quarter or next quarter or three quarters from now,” Buoncore said. “Obviously I want it as soon as we can, but it's more important to get the right fit.”
MAI has closed on 23 acquisitions to date and claimed roughly $14.4 billion in assets under management in its latest regulatory filing, up from $6.6 billion just three years ago. Buoncore estimates that Pareto adds another $150 million but stressed that growing AUM through acquisition was not the ultimate goal.
“It's not dissimilar to what we've done with all of our other acquisitions,” he said, pointing out that a 2019 acquisition in Cincinnati has already doubled its assets under management. “And it's doubled because they're able to get bigger wins and they're able to get more wallet share with some of the opportunities that we bring to them.”
