There is speculation in the media that the private equity majority owner of the US wealth management organization might want to cash out its investment.

The private equity owner of US wealth management group HighTower Advisors is reportedly looking at how to exit its stake in the firm, possibly by a sale.

Reuters reported on Monday that such a move may be on the cards; Family Wealth Report has contacted Thomas H Lee Partners, the private equity house, about the report. It declined to comment. 

The newswire said that the firm is talking to advisors about a partial or full divestment of its majority stake in HighTower, which would value the business at more than $2.0 billion, including debt. The report cited unnamed sources. 

The story came out a few days after HighTower announced that it was rebranding, as previously reported by FWR. In turn, that followed the first 12 months of chief executive Bob Oros being in his post. Oros has overseen a number of merger and acquisition deals, including Green Square Wealth Management ($2.6 billion in assets under administration), LourdMurray ($4.8 billion AuA), Lexington Wealth Management ($1 billion AuA) and Schultz Collins ($1 billion AuA). As of December 31, 2019, HighTower’s assets under administration stood at around $87.4 billion and its assets under management were $57.4 billion. The company grew by 9.6 per cent organically in 2019, up from an 8 per cent rise in 2018.

The wider American M&A story in wealth management is a busy one, as chronicled by organizations such as ECHELON Partners. Recent deals include Fiduciary Trust’s purchase of Pennsylvania Trust, a well-established wealth manager in the region. It also recently bought Athena Capital Advisors. Large M&A marriages include last year’s Charles Schwab/TD Ameritrade hook-up and this month’s Morgan Stanley/E*TRADE deal. Other prominent agreements include Warburg Pincus and Kestra Financial; Reverence Capital Partners and Advisor Group; Goldman Sachs and United Capital; Principal Financial and Wells Fargo; Envestnet and TXN, and MoneyGuidePro.

The Reuters report on HighTower said deliberations are at an early stage. The private equity firm bought its stake in 2017 from a group of investors for an undisclosed amount. HighTower was formed in 2008.