Sawtelle-based money manager Miracle Mile Advisors will merge with Playa Vista-based Aequitas Wealth Management, creating a company with assets under management of nearly $2 billion.
According to the two firms, Aequitas’ principals will join Miracle Mile as managing directors.
Miracle Mile was founded in 2007 to cater to high-net-worth families. The firm’s focus has since evolved to serve entrepreneurs and business professionals, said Founding Partner Brock Moseley.
“I think that is just where it has naturally gone over the years,” Moseley said. “We didn’t set out to be a firm for entrepreneurs.”
The Aequitas combination is Miracle Mile’s second in its 13-year history. Last year, the company acquired Newport Beach-based Palo Capital Inc. in a deal that added 150 clients and $300 million in assets under management.
Moseley emphasized that, despite the recent additions, his firm was not a “rollup shop.”
“We don’t have an acquisition strategy,” he said. “We’ve talked to a lot of people over the years, but it’s very rare for us to find people that share a value system and similar approach to us.”
The latest business combination was not initiated by Miracle Mile, according to Aequitas Principal Sarah Lewis.
“We actually reached out to Miracle Mile,” Lewis said. “(Business partner) Joe (Alexopoulos) and I decided at the end of 2019 that we wanted to find a partner and made up a short list.”
Aequitas began discussions with Miracle Mile near the beginning of this year, according to Lewis, and soon after settled on the Sawtelle-based firm for a business combination.
“Very quickly, Miracle Mile stood out in their responsiveness, their enthusiasm, their culture,” she said. “You just can’t buy that.”
The two teams have already begun to merge, according to Moseley, with integration set to conclude within the next two months. Most of the process has been conducted remotely due to Covid-19 safety concerns, he said.
Although the pandemic has caused some logistical challenges for the firms, both Moseley and Lewis said the lockdowns have helped drive new business and increase engagement with existing clients.
“We’ve actually seen a lot of growth during this time,” Moseley said. “People are taking the time to think about the future. … There is a lot of nervous energy and time to talk now.”
Moseley said many of his clients are shifting their focus from near-term results to bigger-picture questions about their financial futures.
“It’s not about if they made another 2% or 3%,” he said. “It’s answering the big questions like: Is their estate in place? Are they on track toward their long-term (financial) goals?”
The Miracle Mile founder said his company was open to more combinations in the future, but any such moves would be contingent on a full fit in terms of firm culture and business approach.
