Fairport Wealth continues its regional expansion with the addition of a $350 million team specializing in tax-aware wealth management services and retirement-plan consulting.

This week, wealth manager Hightower facilitated a merger for Fairport Wealth, a Hightower advisory business in Cleveland, Ohio – its third sub-acquisition in the last three years.

A team led by Brian Geary, an advisor in Buffalo, New York with $350 million in assets under management, will join Fairport Wealth, bringing Fairport’s total AUM to $3.3 billion, the firm said in a statement this week.

Geary and his team specialize in tax-aware wealth management for high net worth clients, and retirement plan consulting for corporations. The business will operate in Buffalo under the Fairport Wealth brand name. Prior to joining Fairport, the team operated as part of Linwood Investment Advisors in Buffalo.

With the addition of Geary’s team, Fairport Wealth will have four offices across the Midwest, serving executives, business owners and other affluent individuals to help them reach their life goals, with specific offerings for women and those in transition, the firm stressed.

“For the past three years, our practice has grown organically at a rate of 15 per cent,” Geary said. “It was becoming clear that to grow it further, we needed to join a well-resourced entity that could provide us with scale, operational support and a suite of services tailored to our affluent clients. At Fairport, we’ll gain access to a deep bench of investment and tax knowledge, with a direct line to Hightower’s National Trust Company and estate planning services. At the same time, our business-owner clients will benefit from Hightower’s support for client companies undergoing a sale, merger or capital raise," he added. 

Welcoming them to the firm, Hightower chairman and CEO, Bob Oros said: “As part of Fairport and the broader Hightower family, they will be able to put their focus squarely on serving their clients, while gaining access to institutional-class operational support and value-added services to amplify growth. It was a pleasure overseeing this transaction from start to finish.”

This is Fairport Wealth’s third sub-acquisition in the last three years, having added to its expansion regionally. In 2021, Fairport added FMA Advisory of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and in 2019, Fairport added Leonetti & Associates, an existing Hightower advisory business located in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.

Based in Chicago, Hightower is a wealth management firm that provides investment, financial and retirement planning services to individuals, foundations and family offices, as well as 401(k) consulting and cash management services to corporations, with assets under management of $108.4 billion, and assets under administration of about $132.6 billion.