Corient, the Miami-based mega-RIA that bills itself as the world's largest multi-family office and non-bank wealth manager, said Tuesday it will absorb Summit Trail Advisors, a New York-based registered investment advisor overseeing more than $21 billion in client assets. The transaction, expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, represents Corient's largest U.S. acquisition to date and extends its aggressive consolidation streak.
Founded in 2015 by a group of former Barclays advisors who left after Barclays sold its U.S. wealth unit to Stifel Financial, Summit Trail has grown to more than 100 employees across 10 cities, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Seattle, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Newport Beach, California, and Portland, Oregon. The firm positions itself as an outsourced family office and chief investment officer for ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, offering services across public and private markets.
Corient's chief executive, Kurt MacAlpine, framed the deal as a validation of the firm's partnership structure. "The decision by a firm of Summit Trail's caliber to join Corient serves as meaningful validation of our firm's quality and the differentiated value of our private partnership structure and business model," he said in a statement. Summit Trail's managing partner, Jack Petersen, echoed that sentiment, citing Corient's "partnership model – the only one of its kind in wealth management" and its "culture of shared ownership" as decisive factors.
The acquisition is part of a broader buying spree for Corient, which was established in 2020 and now counts more than 300 partners and 2,700 employees managing roughly $556 billion globally. Last month, the firm added Seven Bridges Advisors, a $5 billion New York multi-family office serving entrepreneurs and tech executives. In May, it entered Oklahoma with the purchase of Capital Advisors, a Tulsa-based RIA managing $7.8 billion. Corient has also expanded overseas with acquisitions in the U.K. and France.
Industry-wide, RIA consolidation is running at a record clip. DeVoe & Company's mid-year RIA M&A Deal Book counted 167 transactions in the first half of 2026, surpassing the previous first-half record of 148 set a year earlier. Corient ranked among the ten most acquisitive firms in that report. Echelon Partners' 2025 RIA M&A Deal Report separately credited Corient with seven deals in the $1 billion-plus segment.
Summit Trail's leadership will become Corient partners upon closing. The firm had recently brought in Jeff Ringdahl, a 14-year veteran of Resolute Investment Managers, as president and COO in May 2025, but he left in December to become president at Raymond James Investment Management. Financial terms of the Summit Trail deal were not disclosed.
Ardea Partners LP advised Summit Trail exclusively, with Seward & Kissel LLP as legal counsel. Goldman Sachs advised Corient, with Sidley Austin LLP as legal counsel.
The deal underscores the intensifying competition for ultra-high-net-worth clients, as firms like Corient seek to scale through acquisitions. For more on recent RIA M&A activity, see Corient's Seven Bridges deal and Carson Group's latest billion-dollar addition.
