This is the second article looking at the strategy and developments at United Capital, an investment advisory firm best known for its aggregation strategy.

In addition to its first major marketing push - as detailed here last Friday - United Capital’s goal of becoming a national wealth management brand is being fueled by a strategy the firm has pursued for five years: rapid growth.

Acquisitions have been – and will clearly remain – United Capital’s primary growth vehicle, resulting in 23 offices in nine states, but organic expansion has now also been added to the mix, Joe Duran, the firm’s chief executive officer, told Family Wealth Report.

To reach its goal of having offices in the top 25 US metro markets by 2013, United Capital is employing a three-pronged strategy, Duran said.

The firm will continue to acquire “signature” firms in major cities that have between $200 million and $1 billion in assets under management and also try to land one or two “super-regional” firms with more than $1 billion in assets.

Altogether, United Capital hopes to acquire about six firms this year, Duran said, and is focusing its efforts in Seattle and Portland, Arizona and the southeastern states.

The effort will be aided having plenty of cash in its war chest left over from a $15 million investment the firm received last year from Bessemer Venture Partners, Duran said.

United Capital’s acquisition goal is ambitious, but not impossible, said Bing Waldert, director for Cerulli Associates, the Boston-based research company.

“I think the prospects for M&A activity is a bit overstated,” Waldert said. “Sellers have been few and far between, but there are more now than 24 months ago.”

United Capital also plans to expand staffing and assets in six to ten existing offices this year by adding advisors who may be lifted out from independent broker-dealer or registered investment advisor firms.

“There are a lot of good advisors in shops with between $50 million and $200 million in assets who can’t make the economics work,” Duran said. “We can give them infrastructure, support and locations in an established office.”

United Capital is targeting two types of clients, he said: the “millionaire next door” who has $500,000 to $5 million in assets and “needs goals-based advice” and people with between $5 million and $15 million who need “cash-flow based planning” and tax, estate and investment guidance.

The firm hardly has a clear path ahead, however.

Plenty of other aggregators, advisory firms, banks and private equity firms are also on the prowl for available RIA firms in geographically and demographically desirable locations.

Quality brokers and advisors are, as ever, in high demand, and won’t come cheap.

And high net worth clients are being aggressively courted by every segment of the wealth management business from other advisors to banks, trust companies, wirehouses and multi-family offices.

“We’re very humble about this and very aware of the uncertainty in front of us,” Duran acknowledged. “We know we’re going to need some luck.”

Nonetheless, he expressed confidence that the firms who have a partnership interest in United Capital and received notes or stock would have access to liquidity in three years.

“I anticipate sending our first significant dividend to partners within three years,” Duran said.

By that time, he said, partners should be able to sell their shares internally.

United Capital may also go public, Duran said, or sell an interest to a financial institution, private equity firm or other outside party.