Corient breaks M&A pause with $1.54B Texas acquisition

After a months-long pause in dealmaking, Corient has expanded its presence in the Southwest by adding Messick Peacock & Associates, a Dallas-based RIA managing $1.54 billion in assets.

The move announced Thursday is part of Corient’s strategy to reach more business owners and entrepreneurs across the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Founded in 2015 by Chris Messick and David Peacock, the Messick Peacock & Associates team is known for serving high-net-worth clients with holistic financial planning and strategic investment management.

With roughly three decades of industry experience each, Messick and Peacock were most recently affiliated with Raymond James Financial Services, according to their IAPD records.

Their client base consists significantly of business owners and entrepreneurs seeking tailored wealth solutions and long-term relationships.

“We’re dedicated to helping our clients achieve financial success,” said Messick, who noted that Corient’s private partnership model enables the team to “serve our clients differently and with the full strength of the entire firm behind us.”

Peacock added that joining Corient will allow the team to broaden its offering to clients with complex financial needs.

With the addition of Messick Peacock, Corient now manages about $197.1 billion in client assets and employs more than 1,300 people across the country. The firm’s private partnership model is designed to foster collaboration and provide clients access to the full breadth of its expertise and resources.

Kurt MacAlpine, partner and chief executive officer of Corient, said Messick Peacock “exemplifies the client-first, collaborative approach that’s at the heart of our culture.” He added that the Dallas group’s addition would further Corient’s reach in one of the country’s most vibrant business communities.

This acquisition follows Corient’s deals earlier this year for Rootstock Advisors, a Pittsburgh-based RIA with about $600 million in assets, and the multi-family office business of Geller & Company in New York, which brought $10.4 billion in assets.

Corient’s deal in Texas also comes just as its Canada-based parent firm, CI Financial, completed its take-private transaction with Mubadala Capital, a sovereign wealth fund.

The C$12.1 billion deal is expected to accelerate CI’s expansion in private wealth management and provide additional resources for Corient’s growth in the US, particularly by preserving its private partnership model.

CI's US growth strategy has decelerated substantially from its peak several years ago, when it had at one point set an aggressive pace of 15 deals in as many months.

MacAlpine, who's also the CEO of CI, said the partnership with Mubadala Capital positions CI Financial to “expand our capabilities, accelerate growth and unlock even greater value for the clients we serve.”