Dakota Wealth Management has bought a firm founded and operated by women.

Dakota Wealth Management, founded exactly a year ago by serial entrepreneur Peter Raimondi, has agreed to buy Springside Partners, a female-founded and operated business in Akron, Ohio. The acquisition follows a number of deals last year.

Carina Diamond, founder and chief executive of Springside Partners, has established herself as a leader and strong supporter of female involvement in wealth management.

“Both Dakota Wealth Management and Springside Partners have a high percentage of female clients and are known for hiring and developing the best young talent of both genders,” Dakota said in a statement.

"Our profession needs more diverse leaders like Carina," Raimondi said. "The perspective that she and the Springside team adds will serve both our male and female clients well. In addition, this acquisition allows us the important opportunity to expand our brand in the Midwest."

The professional teams from both firms will remain in place to serve existing clients. Diamond will join Dakota Wealth as chief client experience officer, responsible for advising her own clients and for overseeing client service for all advisors at the firm. She will also serve on the firm's executive committee.

Springside Partners was founded in 2014 as an RIA by Diamond, along with Brenda Hood and Patrick Hahn.

Dakota has made several acquisitions already. Oakmont Partners, based in Peabody, Massachusetts, was the first RIA to join Dakota, followed by Brett Ovieto and team in Fort Lauderdale, and most recently by the tax and advisory practice of GML Associates of Boston, earlier this year. Since its founding, Dakota Wealth Management has grown its assets under management to approximately $1 billion. 

Investment veteran Raimondi has founded and scaled up two RIA firms in recent years in a rapacious growth period for the sector: He launched Banyan Partners in 2006, making seven acquisitions in five years before selling to Boston Private in 2014 for a reported $60 million. Before that he started The Colony Group in Boston, which he grew to $1 billion in assets between 1986 and 2006. (This publication interviewed him last year.)