The wealth management house, with a presence across the US, has made a number of business additions this year, taking its total AuM to more than $6.5 billion.

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management yesterday announced its fourth business acquisition this year, this time adding a business in Colorado.

The firm has bought Ratio Wealth Group, an SEC-registered investment advisor managing over $530 million in advisory assets. 

The financial terms of the agreement – the largest Robertson Stephens has carried out so far – were not disclosed.

Derek Scarth and Graham Gerlach, co-founders of Ratio Wealth Group, are joining Robertson Stephens with their colleagues Josh Freedman, Nancy Kimball, Becky Neils, Jen Padgett, Jack Seavall, and Shawn Wallace.

The addition of Ratio Wealth Group means that Robertson Stephens has now crossed $6.5 billion in advisory assets across 22 locations in San Francisco, Marin County, Menlo Park, Santa Rosa, Pasadena, San Ramon and Burlingame (California), New York (NY), Sun Valley and Boise (Idaho), Holmdel and Madison (New Jersey), Austin and Houston (Texas), Seattle (Washington), Boston (Massachusetts), Jackson (Wyoming), Westport (Connecticut), Portland (Oregon), Vail and Colorado Springs, and now Denver (Colorado).

“We are particularly excited about the valuable expertise the team brings as it relates to insurance planning and serving airline pilots. This merger, our largest to date, is a testament to the firm's growing capabilities,” Raj Bhattacharyya, chief executive, Robertson Stephens, said.

Earlier in July, the firm partnered with Pacific Northwest, Rain Capital; in May, it acquired Colorado-based Three Points Financial, an RIA with $118 million in advisory assets; and at the start of March, it added William (Bill) Thrush and Meghan Rump of The Thrush Group, a Connecticut-based team managing over $180 million in advisory assets. 

The latest addition takes the group's AuM to more than $6.5 billion. 

In January 2023, Family Wealth Report asked Raj Bhattacharyya, chief executive of the firm, about its growth strategy on both the inorganic and organic side.

“M&A plays an important role in our overall growth strategy as does organic growth; however, we don’t believe in aggregation for aggregation’s sake. When we are looking to merge with another firm, we want to ensure that our clients benefit from the transaction. I believe that M&A will continue to be resilient in 2023 because there are strong secular reasons for mergers,” Bhattacharyya said.

“However, buyers are becoming more selective, and valuations and deal structures may be different. For Robertson Stephens, philosophical alignment will continue to be a very important element for mergers. Advisors attracted to us believe that the components of a great client experience include a curated investment portfolio, a comprehensive wealth plan allowing the client to build a legacy, and intuitive technology under a fee-only, fiduciary standard. We continue to grow because we never lose sight of our values, and our advisors share a common goal of constantly evolving and providing world class client service,” he said.