Investment News reported:
The Carlyle Group, a Washington, DC-based investment firm managing $477 billion in assets, and Boston-based Bain Capital are the last remaining bidders competing to buy Wealth Enhancement Group, a firm that oversees nearly $160 billion in client assets, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal is being discussed at a valuation of roughly $7 billion including debt, they said.
No comments have been provided by Wealth Enhancement or current owners, TA Associates and Onex.
Which private equity underwriter (PEU) will win Wealth Enhancement? Carlyle began scooping up registered investment advisors years ago.
Wealth Enhancement has acquired at least six additional RIAs since last year alone, pushing its client asset base to the current $160 billion figure. That kind of inorganic scaling has become a defining characteristic of the largest PE-backed wealth platforms, which compete aggressively with banks and wirehouse brokerages to attract high-net-worth individuals and business owners.
The PEU boys like RIA's predictable fees and seemingly don't fear TechGods automating investment services. Carlyle and Bain must have seen Trump II's 2025 stock trading.
Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod brethren. Increasingly, more are one. It is conceivable that all three are together in this and other enhancement endeavors.