Corient and Mercer with Double Deals, Ex-Hightower Advisors Launch RIA, and Merrill Gains Two UBS Teams in this edition...
Take a Lap Around the Industry 🏃
Exchange Fund Startup Cache Raises $12.5M in Series A Round (Citywire)
Merrill Snags Two UBS Teams With $610M Combined in California, Texas (AdvisorHub)
Peter Thiel-Backed Fintech Brex Plots European Expansion in Push for IPO (Financial Times)
Modern Wealth Acquires $1.1B RIA, Launches First Responders Financial Arm (WealthManagement.com)
Family Office Deal Tracker
Massachusetts-based compact fusion power plant startup, Commonwealth Fusion, has raised $863M in a Series A funding round with backing from Duquesne Family Office
Verlinvest Family Office has participated in a $25M Venture round for Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, India’s largest specialty coffee brand
In a Series F funding round, the AI safety and research company, Anthropic, now valued at $183B, has raised $13B with support from ICONIQ Capital Family Office
Custom PASIC chip design and manufacturer, OpenLight, announced the closing of a $34M Series A round with participation from Capricorn Investment Group
Adding $214B in client assets, multi-family office Stonehage Fleming and European wealth manager Stanhope Capital Group have been acquired by Corient(Citywire)
In a $1B deal, Park Piedmont Advisors, led by brothers Nick and Tom Levinson, has been acquired by $8B Apella Wealth(Citywire)
In a double deal, Mercer has acquired Eagle Wealth Management and West Oak Capital, bringing in $850M in assets (Citywire)
Massachusetts-based New England Private Wealth Advisors (NEPWA) has acquired $1.6B DHK Financial Advisors marking its first deal after it joined Aspen Standard Wealth’s platform few months back (Citywire)
RIA Breakaway Highlight
Granite Islands Private Wealth, LLC has launched as an independent advisory firm in Guilford, CT, offering comprehensive wealth management and investment services for individuals, families, and businesses.
The firm is led by founders Charles Andriole and Robert DeLucca, longtime partners from The Andriole Group at Hightower and Merrill Lynch, who previously managed more than $1B in client assets
The leadership team includes Operations Manager Michele Arsenault and Wealth Advisor Lorenzo Gaudioso, both bringing decades of experience in client service and retirement plan advising to support multi-generational client relationships
Backed by tru Independence for infrastructure, compliance, and technology, the firm emphasizes a client-first philosophy, with Andriole and DeLucca highlighting their commitment to values-driven service and long-term impact
Former Head of Wealth at State Street, Randy Bullard, has joined Hightower to lead its newly launched investment management platform (WealthManagement.com)
Previously CEO at Hightower, Bob Oros, has found himself as Vice Chair at the alternative investments platform, PPB Capital Partners (Citywire)
Travis Danysh has been promoted to Chief Strategy Officer at Focus Financial Partners after being an Executive at the firm for nine years (Citywire)
After less than a year as Chief Executive at F2 Strategy, Ryan Beach has left to join British wealth-tech company FNZ as group head of North America (Citywire)
Gold Gets a Digital Edge as Council Eyes Collateral Potential
The World Gold Council (WGC) is preparing to launch a digital form of gold, dubbed “pooled gold interests”, in a move that could transform London’s $900B bullion market. The initiative, set to pilot next year, would allow banks and investors to trade fractionalized ownership of gold held in segregated accounts, creating a new way to use bullion as collateral in financial markets. WGC CEO David Tait argues that digitizing gold will expand its utility, enabling banks to deploy it for margin calls and other transactions, rather than leaving it as a static asset. The effort builds on WGC’s earlier blockchain-based Gold Bar Integrity program, designed to increase transparency and traceability. While some see digitization as a way to modernize gold and rival the rise of stablecoins and crypto, others remain skeptical, calling it a “solution in search of a problem.” Still, the WGC hopes digital gold will open doors for broader institutional adoption.
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