Sequoia Financial Group to expand with acquisition of Cleveland wealth manager

Sequoia Financial Group is expanding its reach in Ohio with the acquisition of a Cleveland wealth management firm.

The $16 billion AUM Sequoia has agreed to buy the $387 million AUM Cirrus Wealth Management for an undisclosed sum with the transaction expected to close at the end of the month.

Founded just eight years ago by Joe Heider, a 30-year veteran of the financial services industry, Cirrus has 12 employees and offers a comprehensive service encompassing retirement, estate, tax and business planning solutions.

"It's reassuring to know that our team and clients will be in extremely capable hands — right in our own backyard — when we join Sequoia, a like-minded firm that has the technology and resources to support our growing business," Heider, president of Cirrus, said in a statement. "Sequoia is working thoughtfully to build a custom transition plan and is providing growth opportunities for the Cirrus team."

Heider will be a strategic advisor to Sequoia while his son, Ryan Heider, will join Sequoia as vice president and wealth advisor.

GROWTH PLANS

"As part of our growth plans, we want to provide a way for firms like Cirrus to secure their legacies and help pass the torch from one generation to the next," said Tom Haught, founder and CEO of Sequoia. "We look forward to making Cirrus part of the Sequoia family and assisting Joe in executing the firm's succession plan."

Sequoia employs around 200 people in several locations across Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida and South Carolina, and has seen organic growth since it was founded in 1991.

In February it announced one of the largest RIA transactions of 2023, the acquisition of $5 billion Zeke Capital Advisors.