Toronto-based CI Financial Corp. is acquiring Thousand Oaks Financial Corp., a registered investment advisor (RIA) firm based in Thousand Oaks, Calif. It operates under the name Professional Planning.
The deal is being executed through CI’s subsidiary, OCM Capital Partners LLC, a U.S. RIA in which CI Financial acquired a majority interest in May.
Professional Planning offers financial planning and wealth management services and has approximately US$440 million in assets under management (as of June 30, 2020). Professional Planning’s financial advisors, who have an average of 30 years of experience in the industry, will be integrated into the OCM advisory team.
“There are many advisors in our industry who are nearing retirement but remain highly committed to their clients,” said Patrick Bowen, OCM’s president, in a release. “As a growth-minded company, [OCM] is pleased to partner with these advisors, offering them a gradual transition and long-term stability for their clients.”
Professional Planning’s operations include a specialization in serving professional animators, which is a “strong fit” with OCM’s focus on members of the sports and entertainment industries, Bowen noted in the release.
To date, CI has acquired or agreed to acquire interests in four RIAs with combined total assets of US$6.0 billion (June 30).
“CI is partnering with high-quality RIAs with experienced leaders who want to grow their businesses,” said Kurt MacAlpine, CEO of CI, in the release, adding that this acquisition “illustrates the advantages of this model.”
Under MacAlpine, who joined CI in September 2019, the independent wealth and asset management firm has been aggressively building its business in the U.S. through the acquisition of RIAs. In a recent interview with Investment Executive, MacAlpine estimated that CI could add $10 billion to $15 billion in AUM annually via RIA acquisitions.
The transaction for Professional Planning is expected to close in September 2020.