Toronto-based CI Financial Corp. put the financial heft of its new owner to work on Tuesday, acquiring two European fund managers with US$214-billion in assets – doubling the size of its high-net-worth wealth management business.
CI Financial’s Corient division, headquartered in Miami, acquired Stonehage Fleming, with assets under management of US$175-billion, and Stanhope Capital, which oversees US$40-billion for its clients.
Stonehage Fleming is based in Jersey and Stanhope’s head office is in London.
The acquisitions comes less than a month after Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Capital took CI Financial private in a $4.7-billion transaction. The Mubadala purchase closed on Aug. 13.
When the acquisition closed, CI chief executive officer Kurt MacAlpine said with Mubadala’s backing, he planned to continue expanding Corient, which had made a series of debt-financed acquisitions of U.S. wealth managers over the last decade.
Mr. MacAlpine said in a press release on Tuesday: “With this expansion, Corient becomes the world’s largest independent advisory firm.”
Corient will have approximately US$430-billion in assets under management after purchasing stakes in Stonehage Fleming and Stanhope. The transactions are expected to close in the first half of 2026.
“This combination of three storied firms creates a truly global wealth manager and multi-family office with formidable resources and deep expertise in serving the world’s wealthiest individuals,” Mr. MacAlpine said.
Mubadala parent Mubadala Investment Co. has approximately US$330-billion invested around the world. In addition to its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, the fund manager has offices in London, Moscow, New York and Beijing.
CI Financial did not release financial terms of the transactions.
In Canada, recent takeovers of Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. and Guardian Capital Group Ltd. valued the money managers at approximately 2 per cent of their client assets. By that metric, the two European businesses could collectively be worth around US$4.2-billion, if they have similar structures and profit levels. In the past, Corient acquired control stakes in platforms similar to Stonehage and Stanhope, while insisting key executives maintained significant ownership stakes.
Corient’s expansion strategy is to acquire stakes in privately owned wealth managers using a partnership approach, with founders and key executives typically continuing to run the business.
In the U.S. market, Corient acquired a string of registered investment advisers, known as RIAs, often by outbidding larger American rivals.
As Corient expanded in recent years, the relative newcomer to the RIA sector consistently faced concerns it was overpaying. The CEO of rival Focus Financial Partners Inc. FOCS-Q at one point said companies such as Corient were spending like “drunken sailors” to win deals.
Prior to the Mubadala buyout, CI Financial’s stock price underperformed peers, in part on investor concerns with the amount of debt the company took on for Corient’s acquisitions.
Stonehage Fleming executive chair Giuseppe Ciucci said in a press release his 50-year-old company joined forces with Corient as a way to expand a business that already operates in 12 jurisdictions across Europe, Canada and the U.S.
“This next chapter enables us to remain true to our history while expanding our reach and impact for clients,” Mr. Ciucci said on Tuesday.
Stanhope CEO Daniel Pinto, who founded the firm 21 years ago, also highlighted Corient’s partnership model. In a press release, he said: “We’re excited about joining the Corient partnership and the expanded capabilities this combination brings to the families and institutions we serve.”
Corient’s advisers are Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co LLC, and its law firm is Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
Stonehage Fleming used Spencer House Partners LLP as its financial adviser and Macfarlanes LLP as legal counsel. Stanhope’s advisory is Rothschild & Co. and its law firms are Macfarlanes, Dechert LLP, and Borel & Barbey.