CI Financial adds Seattle office with $3.4 billion in assets

Canadian mega buyer CI Financial is acquiring Seattle-based McCutchen Group, an RIA focused on ultra-high-net-worth clients with $3.4 billion under management.

Like many of CI’s acquisitions, McCutchen Group is large and fast-growing, but it's also relatively new, having been launched in 2007. The deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, gives CI its first office in the Pacific Northwest and underscores the aggregator’s intentions to develop a nationwide footprint south of the Canadian border.

CI Financial entered the U.S. market less than two years ago in January 2020 as an aggressive acquirer of registered investment advisory firms, and the latest deal pushes it to more than $85 billion in U.S. wealth management assets and more than $260 billion globally.

Based in Toronto, CI opened a U.S. headquarters in Miami last month. A publicly traded company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, CI dually listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange last November to help facilitate U.S. transactions.

“CI is an ideal partner for us and our clients, given the strong alignment of culture and values and its commitment to a client-focused model,” Matt McCutchen, founder and chief executive of McCutchen Group, said in a statement.

“Working with CI will allow us to expand and enhance the services we offer our clients while preserving the advisory model that our clients value,” he said.