The Chicago firm has snapped up Cornerstone Wealth Management in its first deal of 2020.
Reported on October 1st, 2020 by Ian Wenik – Citywire
Chicago RIA Vivaldi Capital Management has made a deal in sunny San Diego.
The $2.5bn firm has purchased Cornerstone Wealth Management, a four-advisor RIA in the California city with roughly $140m in assets under management.
For Vivaldi, which also has offices around San Francisco, the purchase of Cornerstone gives it a beachhead in southern California.
‘We’ve got a really solid footing up in the San Francisco Bay Area and this now allows us to plant a flag in southern California and gives us full scope now which is something we were looking for,’ said Michael Peck, Vivaldi’s president. ‘This will give us a pretty good inflow into southern California.’
Peck declined to comment on the price Vivaldi paid for Cornerstone Wealth Management but indicated 75% of the deal was financed with cash and the remainder was financed with equity.
‘We’re funding it ourselves,’ he said.
Helmed by chief executive Chris Meacham, Cornerstone is structured to operate like a multi-family office and specializes in advising high net worth clients. His son, Ryan, is a principal at the firm.
The acquisition of Cornerstone is Vivaldi’s first transaction of 2020. In December 2019, the firm purchased the Proper Analysis Corporation, a $350m RIA based in the Cleveland suburb of Beachwood, Ohio.
‘Our growth plan isn’t [purely] acquisition,’ Peck said. ‘It’s a component of it if it’s a good fit.’