Allworth Financial is acquiring City Fiduciary Group, a wealth firm focused on tax planning in the Pacific Northwest with $839 million in client assets. The deal is Allworth's seventh this year.
City Fiduciary Group has offices in Washington and Oregon, and the deal will increase Allworth's presence in those states. It will also strengthen Allworth's in-house tax expertise for clients, with 31 City Fiduciary employees specializing in investment advisory and tax services joining Allworth.
“The demand from our clients for comprehensive financial and tax planning continues to grow, and this is an exciting partnership that will help us meet that demand,” Allworth CEO John Bunch said of the deal.
City Fiduciary Group was founded in 2015 by merging Baikie & Alcantara and City Financial Group. It is co-owned by wealth managers Scott Lowe, Matt Pulsipher and Jeff Brooks. The firm is joining Allworth from a tie-up with Osaic.
Allworth was founded in Sacramento, California, in 1993. It has approximately $25 billion in assets under advisement (including assets in the City Fiduciary Group arrangement) and 43 offices across the country. The City Fiduciary Group deal is the firm's 38th acquisition since 2018.
When Allworth buys an RIA, the firm typically takes on the Allworth brand, with deals structured as a combination of cash and equity (about 110 advisers currently own equity in Allworth).
clutch co-founders Scott Hanson and Pat McClain followed last November as part of a “natural heritage plan”. Hanson and McClain remained with the firm in advisory roles, with McClain continuing to lead the firm's mergers and partnerships division while Hanson became vice chairman.
Bunch spent more than 10 years at Charles Schwab before joining TD Waterhouse in 2004. He became CEO of The Mutual Fund Store in 2012 and remained in that role until Edelman Financial Engines acquired it. At Edelman, he held the roles of executive vice president, chief operating officer and president. Most recently, he served as chief financial services director for London-based Evelyn Partners.
last month, Allworth bought the George McKelvey Companya NJ-based firm with more than $1.1 billion in client assets. The firm is led by partners Robert McKelvey, Robert Giunco, Jr and Richard Looney, and its nine counsel and eight support staff joined Allworth in the deal.
Other acquisitions this year included that June's $220 million acquisition of California-based Del Monte GroupStewart and Patten Company, a Lafayette, California-based firm with $1 billion in client assets, Brennan Asset Management Groupa Redding, California-based RIA with $300 million in assets and $341 million in California Tridea Advisors.