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Silver Bridge To Be Acquired By Banyan Partners
Harriet Davies
4 June 2013
Banyan Partners, a registered investment advisory firm based in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, is acquiring Boston-based wealth manager Silver Bridge Advisors for an undisclosed amount. Silver Bridge is currently majority-owned by the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. Banyan is privately and employee-owned. The combined firm will be called Banyan Partners and have around $3.4 billion in assets under management. At the close of the deal, expected in August, the firm will have eight offices and 70 employees. Peter Raimondi, chief executive of Banyan Partners, will keep that role at the new firm, while Thomas Manning, CEO and chief investment officer of Silver Bridge, will become chief investment officer of the combined firm. Michael Blackmon, Banyan's CIO, will become executive director of portfolio management, leading a team of 22 portfolio managers. Manning took over from former CEO of Silver Bridge Stephen Prostano last December. Manning had been president of the firm since 2011 and chief investment officer since 2007. “There are many firms in the $1.5 billion space that find it difficult to grow and lack resources,” Manning told the Wall Street Journal, adding that the combined firm would be a “powerful” RIA. Raimondi reportedly said he expects it to grow assets and revenues between 20 and 30 per cent annually. Scott Dell’Orfano, chief strategic officer of Banyan Partners, said the firm's strategy was to achieve organic growth and attract "synergistic" businesses. The deal with Silver Bridge, for example, gives the firm its first West Coast branch. The new firm will serve clients with up from $1 million in investable assets, ranging to the ultra-wealthy $100 million segment, according to the WSJ.