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Global Private Equity Firm Spreads Its Wings In US RIA, Fintech Sector With Acquisition
The global private equity firm TA Associates has deepened its wealth management footprint in the US with a majority interest acquisition.
The global private equity firm TA Associates, which has offices in Boston, MA, Menlo Park, CA, London and Asia, is to acquire a majority interest in US-based NorthStar Financial Services Group and its nine subsidiary wealth management industry service providers.
The move represents a “significant investment and continued push by TA into the RIA and fintech space,” Todd Clarke, chief executive of CLS Investments - a NorthStar subsidiary - told Family Wealth Report.
With approximately $275 billion in assets under management and administration, NorthStar provides support services to registered investment advisors, independent broker-dealers and investment management firms. It has around 700 employees and is headquartered in Omaha, NE, with additional offices in Hauppauge, NY; Chicago, IL; Mill Creek, WA; and Scottsdale, AZ.
Besides CLS Investments, the firm's primary business lines are: Gemini Alternative Funds; Gemini Fund Services; Gemini Hedge Fund Services; Northern Lights Compliance Services; Northern Lights Distributors; and Orion Advisor Services.
“The creation of new alternative investment products is occurring at a rapid pace and the RIA market is one of the highest growth segments in financial services,” said Todd Crockett, a managing director at TA Associates.
Crockett will join NorthStar's board of directors, as will Roy Burns, also a managing director at TA Associates. NorthStar’s management team will remain significant owners once the deal has closed, TA said, which is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2015. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“This deal allows NorthStar to retain its independence as a privately-held company, which was paramount to the independent advisors that NorthStar serves,” Eric Clarke, CEO of Orion Advisor Services, told Family Wealth Report.
To date, TA Associates has invested in 450 companies globally, raising raised $18 billion in capital. With offices in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong, the firm leads buyouts and minority recapitalizations of profitable growth companies in the technology, financial services, business services, healthcare and consumer industries.
