Steward Partners lands $475M strategic investment from Ares

Steward Partners is bringing in a new deep-pocketed backer as private capital continues to pour into the RIA space.

The employee-owned firm said Friday it has secured $475 million in strategic capital from Ares Credit funds, structured as a significant expansion of its lending relationship and a non-controlling minority equity stake.

Ares joins existing institutional investors Cynosure Group and The Pritzker Organization, while Steward’s leadership and employees retain strategic control of the business.

Founded in 2013 with three advisors and less than $100 million in client assets, Steward now oversees nearly $50 billion and pitches itself as a national platform that still runs on a partner-led, boutique-style model. The ownership structure gives advisors and other partners meaningful equity stakes, which the firm argues helps align decisions with clients’ long-term interests.

“This is another defining milestone for Steward Partners,” said Jim Gold, chief executive of the firm. “This transaction is a strong affirmation of everything our partners have built over more than a decade. Our team has created meaningful value through years of deep commitment to our mission, and we are thrilled to see the commitment of our partners rewarded.”

In line with a broader trend of PE backing among RIAs, the new capital is expected to support continued hiring, M&A, and technology investments, allowing Steward to chase further scale in a market where RIAs are consolidating and competing head-on with wirehouses and aggregators.

The firm is also positioning the deal as validation of its advisor-owned structure at a time when much of the RIA deal flow is being driven by outside sponsors.

“We weren’t looking for capital alone, we were looking for alignment, vision, and partnership,” said president and chief operating officer Hy Saporta. He said Ares “stood out because they respect independence, understand collaboration, and support our long-term vision.”

The transaction is part of a broader push by Ares into wealth management. Earlier this year, the private equity firm agreed to acquire a significant minority stake in EP Wealth Advisors, a Torrance, California-based RIA with nearly $40 billion in assets under management.  Ares is using both debt and equity across the advisory space as it backs larger platforms looking to scale through organic growth and acquisitions.

On Steward’s side of the table, the firm is framing the Ares capital as both a growth catalyst and a liquidity opportunity for partner-owners. Board chair Keith Taylor said the firm was built as an advisory partnership that distributes cash flow to employee owners through profit-sharing and “Capital events,” and he characterized the new investment as another way to “recognize and reward Partners for their contributions.”

The Steward announcement lands in a week that already saw two smaller RIAs reveal minority stakes. DayMark Wealth Partners, a Dynasty Financial network firm launched in 2022 that has grown from $1.4 billion to more than $4.5 billion in assets under management, disclosed a minority investment from Constellation Wealth Capital to support its expansion into new markets.

Kathmere Capital Management, based outside Philadelphia, also revealed Merchant’s stake in the business, which has helped drive the strategy to scale its “Efficient Family Office” model and nearly double assets from $1.8 billion to a projected $3.4 billion this year.