CI Financial buys $23 billion RIA Segall Bryant & Hamill

Toronto-based CI Financial Corp. is acquiring Segall Bryant & Hamill, a Chicago-based registered investment adviser with more than $23 billion in assets under management and advisement.

The deal is CI’s first this year, after the Canadian wealth management conglomerate established itself as the most prolific acquirer of registered investment advisers in 2020, announcing 13 deals since entering the U.S. market last February.

The acquisition of Segall Bryant & Hamill will be CI’s largest purchase so far, and once completed it will double CI’s total U.S.-based assets to $46.1 billion.

“Acquiring Segall Bryant & Hamill is a major step forward as we continue our U.S. expansion,” Kurt MacAlpine, CI chief executive, said in a prepared statement.

“SBH has built an incredible business and formed a committed team that embodies the characteristics we look for in our acquisitions,” the statement continued. “SBH has also displayed a proven ability to adapt to changing market dynamics to deliver a consistently superior level of client service and investment performance through deep fundamental research. I am pleased to announce that the SBH team will remain intact and be a key driver of CI’s growth in the U.S.”

Following the completion of the SBH transaction, CI’s total North American wealth management assets are expected to be approximately $82 billion and total assets are expected to reach approximately $205 billion.

In addition to the Chicago headquarter, SBH has offices in Denver, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Naples, Florida.

“The interests of our clients have been at the center of every strategic decision we have made since the firm’s founding over 25 years ago,” Philip Hildebrandt, chief executive officer of SBH, said in a prepared statement.

“Our clients will benefit from the synergies that result when like-minded organizations leverage their talents and resources to enhance the client experience,” the statement continued. “CI is a strong strategic partner for SBH, providing the capital resources of a large, global investment firm while allowing us to retain our client-centric approach.”

This is the fifth deal CI Financial has announced since it listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in November.

CI has been a public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange since 1995 under the ticker CIX, but MacAlpine said the NYSE listing under the ticker CIXX will provide the company with another means of paying for RIAs.

As MacAlpine said during his recent guest appearance on The InvestmentNews Podcast, the U.S. market is ripe with acquisition opportunities and CI has plans to become a dominant player in the space.

“The timing for this listing makes sense given the rapid growth in our U.S. wealth management business,” he said.

[Listen: IN Podcast: A new day in Washington, but what does that mean for financial services?]