A Houston-based wealth management firm, Americana Partners, recently acquired Boulevard Family Wealth, also a wealth management firm with a tilt toward ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

Beverly Hills-based Boulevard is Americana’s first acquisition outside of Texas.

The Texas firm has been ramping up its acquisition activity following a strategic investment from private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners in October.

This partnership was a big selling point for Boulevard, according to founder Matt Celenza, who said LMP “has a track record of strong growth and delivering their registered investment adviser’s (RIA) end clients greatly improved services after backing firms that already had high standards.”

Boulevard has been exploring various growth partnership options over the years, Celenza said, as it operated “single-family office service levels for our clients with our RIA structure.”

Larger combined firm

With Boulevard’s integration, Americana will have $12 billion in assets under management.

“We can now scale the offering with a much bigger internal team and tech that comes with Americana,” Celenza said. “We can move faster and have access to more specialists that will allow us to selectively scale for additional families.”

Boulevard will continue serving its clients at its Beverly Hills post, now under the Americana name.

Celenza said the firm’s differentiator is its singular focus on ultra-high net worth individuals and families.

“What we have seen coming is the confluence of increased automation and speed of the investment world butting up against the increasingly less automated and fluid family dynamics,” he added.

Jason Fertitta, chief executive and partner at Americana, called this deal a “milestone” for the company as it will open the doors to California’s spread of high-net-worth individuals and substantial business players.