New aggregator takes stake in three RIAs managing $11 billion

Three former executives in the wealth management business of Affiliated Managers Group have formed an aggregation firm taking minority stakes in Forbes Family Trust, MAI Capital Management and EP Wealth Advisors. The new firm, Wealth Partners Capital Group, is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, and is led by John W. Copeland, Rich Gill and Sean Bresnan. They said the firm has received an investment from AMG in the form of the contribution of its minority interest in Forbes Family Trust, as well capital from a number of wealthy individual investors with experience in the wealth management business. The management teams of each firm will continue to hold a majority of the equity in their business and control day-to-day operations, Mr. Copeland said. "We will be helping them expand into new geographies, add advisers and acquire firms, as well as help with new developments in technology, operations and compliance," said Mr. Gill. "We will help them grow by doing things they can't do by themselves." As part of the transaction, the management teams of each firm have entered into long-term employment agreements with their respective firms. The terms of the transactions were not disclosed. EP Wealth Advisors, based in Los Angeles, manages more than $2.9 billion, and has offices in Irvine, Calif., and the San Francisco Bay area, as well as in Seattle and Denver. Based in New York and Philadelphia, the Forbes Family Trust manages $4 billion in assets for approximately 40 families. MAI Capital Management, based in Cleveland, Ohio, manages over $4 billion in assets through offices in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; Nashua, New Hampshire; Columbus, Ohio; and Irvine, California.