$21.5B Sequoia seals deal for Family Asset Management

Sequoia Financial Group has extended its reach in the Southeast region as it welcomes a 20-year old practice in South Carolina to its growing network.

Sequoia announced on Thursday afternoon that it has acquired Family Asset Management, a Charleston, South Carolina-based investment advisory firm.

The acquisition, for which financial terms were not disclosed, adds over $300 million in assets under management to Sequoia’s hefty wealth enterprise, which totaled $21.5 billion as of the end of September.

Led by chief operating officer Andrew Barrett and chief investment officer Dan Russler, Family Asset Management was founded in 2004 and provides investment advisory and financial planning services to high-net-worth clients, multigenerational families, corporations, and foundations.

“Becoming part of Sequoia Financial is the culmination of a thoughtful, strategic search for the right partner that will allow us to continue our service-first approach to wealth management that we’ve had for two decades,” Russler said in a statement.

For Barrett, the partnership with Sequoia willl provide their clients with access to a “broader and deeper set of resources and investment offerings” through Sequoia’s services, including Sequoia Sentinel, its dedicated family office division that launched in 2023. That service, geared toward ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, serves clients with a typical minimum account size of $25 million.

“Many of our clients are multigenerational, and these added resources will directly benefit them,” Barrett said.

“Family Asset Management just celebrated 20 years in business, which speaks to the enduring quality of the team, its offerings, and dedication to client service,” said Tom Haught, CEO of Sequoia Financial. “We look forward to having Dan, Andrew, and their team join forces with us to continue the legacy they’ve built.”

The addition of Family Asset Management marks the seventh in Sequoia’s string of acquisitions since 2023, which has included firms like Karpas Strategies, AltruVista, Zeke Capital Advisors, and Affinia Financial Group. Sequoia Financial now operates 16 offices across 10 states. 

In late August, the firm also announced a strategic partnership with top accounting firm Eide Bailly. That deal will give Fargo, North Dakota-headquartered Eide Bailly an equity stake in Sequoia, which in turn will acquire Eide Bailly Advisors, its wealth management division with roughly $1.58 billion in AUM.