Cresset Merges with $124B Institutional Consulting Firm

Cresset, a $72 billion registered investment advisor based in Chicago, announced plans to merge with Monticello Associates, an employee-owned institutional consulting firm with $124 billion in assets under advisement.
The deal, expected to close later this year, adds to Cresset’s institutional advisory capabilities and brings the RIA’s total assets to nearly $200 billion.
Denver-based Monticello was founded in 1992 by Grady Durham and serves 175 clients, including foundations, endowments and family offices. The entire Monticello team, which comprises 58 team members, will join Cresset. In addition to Denver, the firm also has offices in Cleveland, Boston and Washington, D.C.
“Together, we’re creating a platform that not only expands access to premier investment opportunities across public and private markets but also strengthens our vision to build a 100-year firm dedicated to serving families and institutions with purpose, care and innovation,” said Avy Stein, founder and co-chairman of Cresset, in a statement.
Over the last several years, many in the RIA business have made concerted efforts to serve the institutional market. For example, one of the biggest RIAs in the country, Mariner Wealth Advisors, acquired two institutional consulting firms, AndCo Consulting and Fourth Street Performance Partners, last year, adding $104 billion in assets and 100 employees.
Late last year, Hightower took a majority interest in NEPC, an institutional consulting firm and outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO). And SageView Advisory Group, a California-based registered investment advisory firm, recently acquired CAP STRAT, an Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based institutional retirement plan consulting and wealth management firm with $25 billion in assets.
Cresset was founded by Eric Becker and Stein in 2017 to manage their own families’ assets. The duo came out of the private equity world, and the firm has focused on bringing private placements to its wealthy clients. It serves high-net-worth clients, including entrepreneurs, CEOs and executives, as well as multigenerational families. Cresset provides boutique family office services, personalized wealth management, private investing opportunities and a community focused on peer-to-peer learning.
Late last year, Cresset sold a minority stake to Constellation Wealth Capital, the private equity company created by former Emigrant Partners CEO Karl Heckenberg to invest in the growing RIA channel.
Lately I’ve been feeling like our home could use a refresh, and less of an emphasis on functional design. If...
In 2021, Abilene, Texas, the manufacturing industry and education sector wanted to take their established partnership to another level. The...
The “Pay Off Debt” TikTok trend is allowing some creators to earn money toward their student loans through the platform’s...