Acquisition of 170-year-old firm will expand Corient into the Maine market
CI Financial Corp’s US subsidiary Corient has announced a major acquisition to expand the reach and capabilities of its wealth advisory business.
The Miami-headquartered Corient has agreed to acquire Maine’s largest registered investment advisor H.M. Payson which provides wealth management services to high-net-worth clients and was founded in 1854. The firm has US$7.9 billion AUM and manages approximately $1.2 billion in trust assets as a Maine-chartered trust company.
Kurt MacAlpine, partner and CEO of Corient and CI Financial, said that the acquisition is a natural fit.
“Their team-based approach and deep commitment to client success align perfectly with our mission to put our clients at the center of everything we do. We look forward to building on their impressive foundation to deliver even greater value to clients across Maine and the Northeast,” he said.
Corient operates its fiduciary wealth management firm with private partnerships and has 250 partners and 1,000 employees managing approximately US$184 billion. It rebranded from CI Private Wealth in August 2023 having entered the US market in 2020 and expanded quickly through acquisitions.
For H.M. Payson, joining Corient is about continuing almost two centuries of client service while expanding what it is able to offer by being part of a larger firm.
“By joining Corient, we can immediately offer more to our clients while staying true to the principles that have guided us for generations,” said Daniel Lay, President and Managing Director at HMP. We are aligned on culture and values, which emphasize earning the trust of clients through an in-depth, integrated approach tailored to each person’s individual needs. We were also impressed by Corient’s private partnership, which fosters collaboration and ensures that resources and expertise from across the firm will be available to serve our clients.”
Take private
CI Financial has recently been acquired itself, by Mubadala Capital, the alternative asset management arm of Mubadala Investment Company.
The take-private deal values CI Financial at approximately $12.1 billion. The announcement stated that CI Financial would continue with its current structure and that MacAlpine would continue as CEO.
Corient has been looking at an IPO in 2026 but this is not currently a focus for the firm a spokesperson told our sister publication InvestmentNews.
