GeoWealth investment platform expands down-market with deal for First Ascent

The First Ascent Asset Management TAMP will operate as a separately branded subsidiary of GeoWealth.

GeoWealth, a Chicago-based turnkey asset management platform designed specifically for registered investment advisors, is acquiring First Ascent Asset Management, a Denver-based TAMP with a focus on smaller RIAs.

The deal, which is expected to close within 30 days, brings with it $1.3 billion in investor assets, pushing GeoWealth beyond the $21 billion mark.

“This wasn’t an asset purchase; we love the First Ascent team and we really like their business model,” said Colin Falls, GeoWealth president and chief executive.

Ten years after GeoWealth’s founding as a technology-focused TAMP for independent advisors, Falls said this first acquisition will expand its market to an “underserved” corner of the wealth management space.

GeoWealth’s portfolio management system, which targets RIAs with between $200 million and $6 billion, was built from the ground up and is designed to engage RIAs in more of a traditional TAMP model by “meeting RIAs where they are,” Falls said.

“Over 70% of our assets is from advisors building their own models,” he added.

By comparison, First Ascent’s market has primarily been sole proprietor advisors with less than $200 million worth of client assets.

“They have traditionally focused on smaller RIAs that don’t have their own investment team,” Falls said. “What we saw in First Ascent was a fast-growing, early stage, full-service TAMP.”

Falls said First Ascent will operate as a subsidiary of GeoWealth “for the time being,” keeping its name and headquarters location.

“When we first met the GeoWealth team, I remarked that First Ascent should have been built on top of its integrated technology; that’s how seamless and user-friendly it is,” said First Ascent CEO Scott MacKillop.

“First Ascent was designed to maximize the benefits of the TAMP business model for fiduciary advisors,” he added.

First Ascent’s name, investment offering, service model and flat-fee schedule will remain unchanged; however, its advisor clients will now have access to expanded capabilities that include back-office efficiencies and flexible, customizable unified managed account offerings.

Details of the transaction were not disclosed beyond confirmation that it is a cash-and-equity deal.

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