Corient, the registered investment advisor arm of CI Financial, is continuing its acquisition streak since global alternative asset manager Mubadala Capital took the firm private earlier this year.
The firm announced that it reached a deal to acquire Bristlecone Advisors, a multi-family office based in Bellevue, Wash., founded in 1999. Bristlecone is a team of 10 with about $2 billion in assets under management. The firm says it specializes in financial and estate planning as well as direct investments for HNW clients.
Bristlecone is led by Kevin Berry, a partner and managing member who also serves as the Chief Compliance Officer. Berry joined the firm in 2010 after leaving Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch.
Berry said in a statement that the firm agreed to the deal after recognizing “the importance of bolstering our service offering and operational capabilities. Corient’s unique private partnership not only gives us the additional services, scale and resources to achieve that – but also a formidable bench of talent with whom we can partner and collaborate to do more for clients.”
Miami-based Corient is currently closing a deal for two U.K.-based wealth management firms that will nearly double its total assets under management to more than $430 billion. The firm oversees about $216 billion through its network of over 260 partners and 1,300 employees.
On Sept. 2, Corient announced that it would acquire Stonehage Fleming, a multi-family office based in Jersey, U.K., which oversees $175 billion in assets, and Stanhope Capital Group, a London-based wealth manager with $40 billion in client assets. Corient expects the deal to close in the first half of 2026.
Corient partner and CEO Kurt MacAlpine said at the time the firm would continue its acquisition strategy, and soon after, announced in early September it was acquiring Boston-based Breed Hill Capital, a firm with $3.5 billion in AUM, and Northeast Financial Consultants, an RIA overseeing $4.5 billion in AUM and Corient’s first office in Connecticut.
Corient is a fee-only firm with a partnership model that MacAlpine positions as unique, as clients work with multiple advisors and specialists, as opposed to having a single advisor relationship.
Corient’s Canadian-based parent firm, asset manager CI Financial, was taken private in August by Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Capital after being traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Cambridge International Partners advised Bristlecone on its move to Corient.
