Hightower Signature to add $1 billion Synergy, a partner since 2017

Hightower Signature's announced deal would add $1 billion and 15 employees by taking in Synergy Capital Solutions, a Bloomfield Hills, Mich., RIA that has been a Hightower partner since 2017. The move would bring Synergy's book into the Signature channel rather than leave it as a Hightower affiliate. The transaction would push the Signature channel past $40 billion in assets.

In the same week's coverage, Merit Financial agreed to acquire Orchard Park, a $1.1 billion advisory practice with a 13-person team. The deal gives the Atlanta RIA its first New York office and will close the acquired practice's own RIA.

Divide assets by headcount and the two deals look similar: about $67 million per employee at Synergy and about $85 million at Orchard Park. Neither announcement includes a purchase price or closing date, according to the coverage. For Hightower, the coverage also does not state the mix of cash and equity, an earn-out schedule or retention terms for the 15 employees.