EP Wealth unveils partnership with $1.2B majority women-led RIA

EP Wealth Advisors has expanded its Midwest footprint by acquiring Chicago-based Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, a majority women-led RIA managing more than $1.2 billion dollars in assets.

The partnership brings 15 new team members to EP Wealth, including founders Shari Greco Reiches and David Rappaport, who will become regional directors.

According to EP Wealth CEO Ryan Parker, the move is part of its ongoing strategy to grow its presence in the Chicago area while advancing an internal women-focused initiative.

“Our partnership with RRCM strengthens our planning-led approach, advances our Investing in Women initiative, and deepens our community presence in greater Chicagoland – all while keeping client service at the center,” Parker said in a statement Tuesday.

Founded in 2005, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management has built a reputation for comprehensive planning and community engagement. The firm’s leadership team, which includes a majority of women advisors, will assume key roles at EP Wealth. Reiches will also take on a leadership position within the firm’s Investing in Women initiative.

“We have always had a focus on empowering and educating women about money, and with EP, we will have an even larger impact,” said Reiches.

Rappaport echoed the sentiment, underscoring the "new resources to our team and new opportunities for our clients."

Financial and legal terms of the transaction were not disclosed. RRCM is EP Wealth’s seventh partnership of 2025, including its June deal with Buffington Mohr McNeal in Idaho and late-April acquisition of NBS Financial Services.

EP Wealth, which has backing from Boston-based private investment firm Berkshire Partners, said it manages more than $36.4 billion in assets across 54 offices in 19 states as of June 30.

EP Wealth's partnership with RRCM comes as the industry faces a generational shift in wealth and a growing emphasis on serving women investors. A February report from CFP Board found 60% of women self-report as the main financial decision-makers in their households, with an additional 56% believing financial planners are best suited to help them achieve their financial goals, ahead of online tools and other alternatives.

According to a recent Cerulli report, women in the Baby Boomer and older generations are expected to receive $40 trillion in horizontal wealth transfers as they outlive their husbands, while younger women are projected to inherit $47 trillion intergenerationally. Despite this, women remain underrepresented in advisory roles, making up less than one-fifth of US advisors as of 2022.

More recent studies suggest women investors, particularly millennials, are becoming more engaged and confident. Charles Schwab’s 2025 Women Investors Survey found that the average millennial woman began investing at age twenty-seven, earlier than previous generations, and is more likely to explore alternative investments. Meanwhile, McKinsey estimates women now control around $18 trillion in US assets, representing just over one-third of total AUM.