United Capital to acquire $600M Peak Capital

United Capital Financial Advisers will acquire the assets of Peak Capital Investment Services – an advisory firm with $600 million in assets under management – executives revealed at the Schwab Impact Conference here in San Francisco today. Peak, which is located in Denver and Dallas, has roughly 40 employees and will add to United Capital’s base of $16 billion in total assets across its organization. Joe Duran, CEO of United Capital, called the deal with Peak a “needle moving event” for his firm, noting that Peak has made major inroads in the defined contribution space and has established a call center that allowed the firm to expand significantly in recent years. “We’re highly selective with the firms we choose to work with,” said Mr. Duran in an interview at Impact. Over the past five years, United has made more than 30 acquisitions in the industry and recently purchased Vantage Point Advisors, a $170 million financial planning firm in North Wales, Penn. In the Peak deal, David Paterson, the firm’s founder, will join United Capital as a managing director. Also joining United will be senior vice presidents Brandon Ross and Jonathan Blumenthal, as well as Tim Harder, Peak’s chief investment officer. Each will become managing directors at United Capital.