Cerity Partners, a large registered investment advisor based in New York, is merging with Agility, an outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) business catering to nonprofits, family offices, and ultrahigh-net-worth individual clients.
Agility, based in Denver, had been operating as an OCIO within Perella Weinberg Partners Capital Management (PWPCM).
Cerity says the addition will bring its client assets under advisement to around $100 billion. The firm, which ranked No. 11 on Barron’s 2023 list of top RIAs, reported nearly $80.6 billion in assets under management on its most recent Form ADV regulatory filing.
Cerity CEO Kurt Miscinski praised the Agility team’s “unparalleled expertise” in its work advising businesses, nonprofits, and ultrawealthy clients. “This partnership will reinforce our ability to serve this very important segment of the market.”
The deal continues a run of acquisitions for Cerity, which is backed by the private-equity firm Genstar Capital. Those include the additions last year of ARGI Financial, a Kentucky-based RIA with $4.8 billion in assets at the time of the deal, and AJ Wealth, a New York firm with $2.4 billion in assets.
Cerity says the deal should close “no later than June.” Agility’s entire staff or more than 50 will join Cerity, according to the firm.
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Agility’s investment team will form an OCIO committee within Cerity that will serve its network of advisors. Cerity describes the addition as a “strategic complement” to its existing wealth management services.
Agility’s institutional clients include endowments, foundations, corporations, and healthcare organizations.
Chris Bittman, CEO and CIO of Agility, says he and his team “look forward to building upon the success” they had at Perella Weinberg, the New York-based investment banking advisor.
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“At Cerity Partners, we will preserve the elements of our investment research and processes that supported our growth within PWPCM, while benefiting from the additional scale and services that Cerity Partners can provide to new and existing clients,” Bittman says.