Captrust acquires Chicago RIA Ellwood Associates

The deal for Ellwood, which oversees $85 billion in assets, will expand Captrust's services for endowments and foundations.

Captrust Financial Advisors, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based registered investment adviser managing $60 billion, has agreed to acquire Ellwood Associates, a Chicago-based firm overseeing $85 billion in assets.

The deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, represents Captrust’s first foray into Chicago. Ellwood Associates is the 51^st firm that Captrust has acquired since 2006.

A total of 55 Ellwood employees will be joining Captrust, including a team of consultants with an average of 20 years of industry experience.

Ellwood, which was founded in 1977, serves endowments and foundations, retirement plans, hospitals, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. It will also add expertise on alternative investments to Captrust’s investment team.

“When looking for the next step for Ellwood, we knew we wanted to be a part of a majority employee-owned firm to continue our own legacy of employee ownership,” Timothy Egan, a senior consultant and healthcare practice leader at Ellwood, said in a press release. Egan will become a principal at Captrust..

Captrust, which specializes in retirement plans, advises on $600 billion in assets.