Carlyle makes first majority RIA bet with MAI Capital Management

One of the world’s largest private equity firms is making its biggest move yet into the RIA sector, as Carlyle Group has acquired a majority stake in MAI Capital Management, valuing the Cleveland-based RIA at more than $2.8 billion.

Carlyle is growing its position after being a minority investor in MAI since 2021 via its stake in insurance firm Galway Holdings, whose investors also include Oak Hill Capital, and Harvest Partners. As part of the Carlyle acquisition, which is set to close in the second quarter of this year, Harvest Partners and Oak Hill Capital will exit their positions in MAI Capital Management.

Rick Buoncore, MAI’s CEO and chairman, told InvestmentNews that about a third of the RIA’s equity will remain held by employees. MAI is Carlyle’s first majority-owned RIA and follows a minority investment Carlyle made in RIA aggregator firm Captrust in 2023. 

“We're the only controlling interest they [Carlyle] have in the wealth management business, so hopefully there'll be opportunities to meet some of their portfolio management companies for opportunities for new business and things like that,” said Buoncore.

MAI managed $9.2 billion in 2021 and has grown today to roughly $73 billion in assets under management. It has made more than 20 acquisitions since January 2024, including its blockbuster deal last year to double in size via its merger with Evoke Advisors, a Los Angeles-based RIA focused on serving ultra-high-net-worth and entertainment industry clients.

Carlyle Group manages more than $477 billion in assets, making it the 17th largest private equity firm according to rankings from Private Equity International. MAI will also gain access to Carlyle’s Global Portfolio Solutions Group, which provides cost-saving resources across AI, data mining, and digital marketing. 

Evoke’s acquisition boosted the sports and entertainment division at MAI, whose origins managing wealth for athletes dates back to the 1970s. Carlyle’s investment is expected to accelerate MAI’s M&A activity, with Buoncore mentioning southeast Florida, Atlanta, Texas, the Northwest, Denver, Chicago, and Boston as areas the firm will target in expansion. 

“With Evoke they're really big in LA, but they don't have much outside of LA. So if we found an Evoke that covered some of the other major markets we'd like to be in, that would be a no-brainer,” said Buoncore. “There'll be those opportunities, and that's why we needed a deeper, stronger capital base. That’s what Carlyle is bringing to us, with the addition to get more capital if we need it because they have a great list of limited partners that we could go to.”

MAI is expected to form a board consisting of existing leadership and a couple executives from Carlyle. As of writing on Tuesday afternoon, The Carlyle Group’s public stock is up around 3.9% trading at $48.25, but is down roughly 18% year to date. 

"It's an incredible time to do this and to have the capital right now in this environment,” said Buoncore. “It was amazing that the deal got closed in an environment where AI was questioned, private credit is questioned, the war is going on, the market's tanking. Yet, they had enough faith and confidence in us as a company and as a team to make that investment, so we couldn't be more excited.”