Cerity Partners Adds UHNW Firm in New York

What You Need to Know

Adding AJ Wealth expands Cerity’s ability to serve ultra-high-net-worth clients with complex wealth management needs, the firm says.
The combined firm will operate under the Cerity Partners name.
Terms of the transaction were not immediately disclosed.

Registered investment advisor Cerity Partners has acquired AJ Wealth, an RIA managing over $2 billion in client assets and specializing in family office services for ultra-high-net-worth families, Cerity said Wednesday.

Both firms have their headquarters in New York City. The combined firm will operate under the Cerity Partners name, it said.

Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed, and Cerity didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

AJ Wealth was advised on the transaction by Park Sutton Advisors, which manages assets totaling $65 billion, Cerity said.

For Cerity, the combination expands its capability in “serving ultra-high-net-worth clients with complex wealth management needs,” it said. “One of AJ Wealth’s unique areas of expertise is the complex estate and tax planning issues for clients with carried interests in their firm’s investment funds,” according to Cerity.

“AJ Wealth has significant expertise working with partners and founders of hedge funds, private equity and venture capital firms, business owners, and C-suite executives,” Cerity pointed out.

AJ Wealth was founded in 2012 by Andrew Cooper and Justyn Volesko, who previously worked in Goldman Sachs’ Family Office unit. Cerity was founded in 2009.

Kurt Miscinski, Cerity CEO and president, sees the combination with AJ Wealth as an accelerant to the firm’s growth in working with exceptionally wealthy individuals and families.

AJ Wealth’s “highly customized family office service is unique in our industry,” according to Miscinski. “Our merger allows us to broaden the depth of our service offering and will accelerate our firm’s growth in an important and expanding client segment,” he said in a statement.