By Muskan Arora
Hightower Holding, a Chicago based wealth
manager, has confirmed that it will acquire a majority stake in $1.66T NEPC, a Boston
based investment consulting firm.
While the cost of the transaction remains undisclosed,
the deal is expected to close by early 2025. However, NEPC professionals will
continue to retain significant stakes in the firm, along with Hightower.
Lately, there has been a noted growing
interest among registered investment advisory firms in acquiring institutional consulting
businesses, however this is a “transformational combination”, as stated by Bob
Oros, Chairman & CEO at Hightower Holding.
Together the wealth manager and consulting
firm would have $258bn assets under management, of which approximately $156bn will
be overseen by Hightower’s financial advisors whereas NEPC’s OCIO business
comes to just around $100m.
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This transaction also brings changes within
the board at the wealth manager’s firm, as Michael Manning, managing partner at
NEPC, will be joining the board of directors at Hightower Holding once the deal
is closed.
Further Manning stated that the deal would speed
up the growth of NEPC’s wealth management wing that had already become a “full
fledged business line” from a revenue perspective over the past seven years.
“Private markets are becoming an area of
bigger and bigger demand (in retail wealth management) and by working together
we’re going to be able to put together access vehicles that we can make
available to Hightower advisers and our clients,” said Oros.
NEPC’s institutional capabilities become
“another attractive lever they can take advantage of by becoming part of
Hightower,” Oros said.
During the transaction, NEPC was advised by
Moelis & Company LLC and Goodwin Procter, LLP provided legal counsel.
Further, Hightower Holding relied on
Berkshire Global Advisors to provide industry research on the institutional
investment consulting and OCIO industry and Kirkland & Ellis, LLP to
provide legal counsel.
