MAI Capital Management announced Monday that it acquired RIA Summit Financial Advisors, a San Mateo, California-based boutique advisory firm serving emerging affluent and high net worth clients and their families, with about $570 million in assets under management (AUM) when the deal closed on Friday.
Summit was co-founded in 1998 by Rafael Velez, who served as its Managing Director prior to the transaction.
“This acquisition reflects our ongoing strategy of partnering with teams that share our culture, client-first focus, and commitment to growth,” Rick Buoncore, CEO and Chairman of MAI, told WSR by email. He called Summit a “strong fit” for his firm.
Summit’s San Mateo office gives MAI “access to the San Francisco metro and Silicon Valley markets,” he told WSR.
“Raf and his team share our vision for client-first financial management, and their demonstrated expertise and specialized service offerings will strengthen MAI’s presence in California and beyond,” Buoncore said in a news release.
“Summit’s lead advisor and core team have been together for more than two decades,” Buoncore noted. “This continuity and hands-on approach to client service help make them a natural fit for MAI. We look forward to working together to enhance the value we deliver to the individuals and families we serve.”
The full Summit team will remain in place after the acquisition, with Velez taking on the role of Regional President, Senior Managing Director within MAI, according to MAI.
“From the outset, our mission has been to serve as a single resource for comprehensive wealth management while cultivating deep, long-lasting client relationships,” Velez said in the news release.
Velez added, “Partnering with MAI enables us to provide our clients with enhanced resources and capabilities while maintaining the personalized service and fiduciary commitment that have guided our firm for over 27 years.”
Summit is being integrated into MAI’s platform, MAI said.
Summit has “deep roots” in Silicon Valley and developed expertise in serving high-tech executives and entrepreneurs, according to MAI. The RIA specializes in equity-based compensation, concentrated stock portfolios and complex tax strategies.
Advice Dynamics Partners advised Summit on this transaction, MAI said.
Since January 2024, MAI has made 13 acquisitions. The Summit acquisition’s announcement came less than three weeks after MAI said it was acquiring Los Angeles-based RIA Evoke Advisors as part of a deal expected to close by the fourth quarter that will create a combined firm with about $60 billion in AUM and assets under advisement (AUA).
“Looking ahead, we remain focused on disciplined expansion in key markets, pursuing opportunities where the fit is right and where we can help advisors and clients thrive,” Buoncore told WSR on Monday.
MAI, founded in 1973, had 33 offices prior to the transaction. Including the five employees added through the Summit acquisition, MAI now has more than 525 employees, according to MAI.
As of June 30, MAI had almost $35 billion in total assets – $31.15 billion in AUM and $3.84 billion in AUA – including retirement plans and other accounts advised but not actively managed by MAI.
Jeff Berman, Contributing Editor and Reporter at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at jeff.berman@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
