EP Wealth Hires M&A Firm in Quest for $5B AUM

EP Wealth Advisors wants to become a Southern California megastar.

The Torrance, Calif.-based RIA is bringing on mergers and acquisitions firm Advice Dynamics Partners, of Mill Valley, Calif., to help it find acquisition candidates and manage dealmaking activity.

“We have aspirations to grow to $5 billion,” says Patrick Goshtigian, the firm’s president. “That is going to take a couple of avenues of growth.”

Founded in 2004 through the merger of two firms, EP Wealth has grown organically to its current $1.4 billion in AUM, the firm says. In 2011, the firm’s two founding partners brought in Goshtigian, the former head of global operations at Nuveen Investments, as president.

His assignment: Run the day-to-day operations and execute on a growth plan, Goshtigian says. “I had the opportunity to join this firm, work locally in my community and develop and run the business to allow the cofounders to focus on their client relationships,” he says.

SUCCESSION OPTION
Advisors who join EP Wealth also will be able to leave daily management tasks to others, he said. They can also look to EP Wealth to solve their succession planning needs, he added.

“The ideal candidate is probably in that $100 million to $300 million AUM range,” Goshtigian says. “Anywhere in the Southern California marketplace would be helpful, including Orange County or San Diego, where we have less of a presence.”

EP Wealth was formed through the merger of Enright Financial Consultants with Premier Financial Management, the company cofounded in 1999 by current managing directors Derek Holman and Brian Parker. 

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