Two RIAs combine to create $3 billion firm

Two independent advisory groups in the Northeast have combined to create a firm with more than $3 billion assets under management. The Colony Group LLC acquired Prosper Advisors LLC, an independent registered investment adviser based in New York with more than $300 million in client assets, in a transaction that closed on Oct. 1. An announcement of the merger was made on Tuesday by Focus Financial Partners LLC, part owner of the Boston-based Colony. Prosper was founded by Dina Lee, a former partner at Ernst & Young LLP, in 2002, according to the statement. The firm says it counts more than 60 high-net-worth families and individuals among its clients, and those clients have an average of approximately $5 million in assets apiece. Ms. Lee will be president of Colony's Family Office and managing director of its New York City-area offices. Colony merged with Mintz Levin Financial Advisors LLC in 2012. That Boston-based firm managed more than $1 billion in assets.