Corient, one of the country’s largest wealth advisory firms, is making a major move in the Northeast with a mega-acquisition in Maine.
On Tuesday, the RIA aggregator announced plans to acquire H.M. Payson, Maine’s largest RIA.
HMP will mark Corient’s first expansion into Maine, enhancing its reach across northern New England. The transaction is expected to close in 2025.
H.M. Payson, a Portland-based firm with a 170-year history, has $7.9 billion in assets under management, which includes $1.2 billion in trust assets it oversees as a Maine-chartered trust company. Founded in 1854, it specializes in wealth management, offering investment management, estate planning, and trust services.
“Our commitment to fiduciary excellence and client-first service has been the cornerstone of HMP’s 170-year legacy,” Daniel Lay, president and managing director at H.M. Payson, said in a statement. “By joining Corient, we can immediately offer more to our clients while staying true to the principles that have guided us for generations.”
Headquartered in Miami, Corient is a subsidiary of Toronto-based CI Financial, a global asset and wealth management company with approximately $377.3 billion in assets as of October 31. Previously operating as CI Private Wealth, it made the decision to switch monikers in August last year, embracing its current name in a nod to its client-oriented focus.
The HMP acquisition will add to Corient’s fast-growing platform, which currently manages $184 billion in assets for high-net-worth individuals, families, and businesses. It also highlights Corient’s strategy to grow its footprint while aligning with firms that share a client-centered approach.
“HMP’s position as Maine’s largest RIA and its legacy of exceptional service make it a natural fit for Corient,” said Kurt MacAlpine, partner and chief executive officer of Corient. “Their team-based approach and deep commitment to client success align perfectly with our mission to put our clients at the center of everything we do.”
The deal comes at a crucial phase of inflection for CI Financial, which is preparing to go private following an agreement with Mubadala Capital. That deal, announced late last month, will see the Canadian financial giant snapped up by the alternative asset management arm of Mubadala Investment Company for an enterprise value of roughly $8.7 billion.
Immediately prior to that agreement, MacAlpine had divulged plans to spin off Corient via a 2026 IPO.
“As it relates to the timing for the IPO markets, kind of the opportune time to look at the separation of the business and pursue the Corient IPO would probably be sometime in early to mid-2026,” MacAlpine said during CI's third-quarter earnings call earlier in November.
Given the news CI Financial's agreement with Mubadala, the Corient IPO is currently not a point of focus for the firm, a spokesperson told InvestmentNews.
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