Hightower Signature Wealth adds $5 billion in deal hat trick

Three more advisory practices are joining Hightower's fast-growing branded platform for wealth managers, adding roughly $5 billion in combined assets under management and pushing the platform past $35 billion.

Hightower announced Tuesday that Private Vista, Hightower Great Lakes, and The McGuirk & De Nevi Group have officially joined Hightower Signature Wealth, bringing six office locations and more than 40 team members to the platform.

The moves lift Hightower Signature Wealth to more than 140 advisors across upward of 40 locations nationwide.

"These advisors share our commitment to delivering an exceptional client experience and recognize the value of giving advisors back more time in their days," said Larry Restieri, chief executive officer of Hightower Advisors.

"The continued growth of Hightower Signature Wealth reflects the demand for a wealth management model that combines local relationships with institutional-quality capabilities," he added.

Read more: Inside Hightower's move to rebrand acquired firms, court smaller RIAs

Three practices join up

Jim Weil, managing partner of Private Vista, described the move as a continuation of an existing relationship rather than a fresh courtship.

"Joining Hightower Signature Wealth is a natural evolution of our longstanding partnership with Hightower," Weil said. "It provides a strong long-term home for our clients and team while giving us access to additional resources to support future growth."

Tim Scannell, managing partner of Hightower Great Lakes, pointed to the back-office infrastructure – known internally as Hightower One, overseen by President and COO Roberto Stewart – as the deciding factor. "The integrated platform will allow us to spend less time on administration and more time focused on delivering value to clients," Scannell said.

Read more: Hightower names Roberto Stewart as president and chief business officer

Michael De Nevi, managing partner of McGuirk & De Nevi, framed the decision around scale without losing the personal touch his firm has built with clients. "Hightower Signature Wealth gives us access to the resources and infrastructure needed to continue growing while maintaining the personalized experience our clients expect," he said.

Hightower said the three practices bring its year-to-date total of new assets added to the Signature Wealth brand – through both internal conversions and outside acquisitions – to more than $25 billion.

Hightower builds on a busy year

Tuesday's announcement extends a run of dealmaking that has defined Hightower Signature Wealth since its debut last October. In January, it folded in five existing practices, which Hightower said at the time pushed it past the $20 billion asset milestone.

Months later, Journey Strategic Wealth in New Jersey became the platform's first outside acquisition, adding roughly $5 billion in assets and installing Journey co-founder Penny Phillips in a leadership role overseeing advisor strategy. The pace continued in April, when a Massachusetts-based super-ensemble firm brought $3.2 billion in assets into the fold.

Hightower has also been broadening what advisors on the platform can offer, expanding its family office services last month through strategic relationships with institutional consulting firm NEPC and Los Angeles-based business management firm GTBA.

Hightower, which is majority-owned by private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, said it expects to announce additional acquisitions into the Signature Wealth brand in the coming months.