Corient Buys $21 Billion New York City RIA Summit Trail

Miami-based Corient has struck another deal, announcing on Wednesday that it is acquiring New York City-based Summit Trail Advisors, a dually registered RIA managing more than $21 billion in client assets. Summit Trail was founded in 2015 by former Barclays Wealth executives Jack Petersen, Dave Romhilt, Tom Palecek, John Scarborough and Peter Lee, according to an announcement on Wednesday. The practice was initially launched with Dynasty Financial Partners, which provided the firm with a line of credit without taking a stake in it. The transaction with Corient is expected to close in the third quarter, and then Summit Trail’s equity principals will become partners at Corient. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed. Dynasty looks forward to “supporting [Summit Trail] in the next chapter as they become part of Corient’s growing platform,” according to a spokesperson. A Corient spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment on whether Summit Trail will continue to use Dynasty after the deal closes. Summit Trail has nearly 100 employees and more than 30 advisors in offices across the country, including Boston, Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco. The RIA has grown in part through the recruitment of advisors, and in June 2024 it onboarded a team from BNP Paribas managing $3 billion, according to an announcement at the time. In May 2025, the RIA reeled in a veteran asset management executive as its chief operating officer and president. Summit Trail, however, last year lost a three-advisor team managing $6 billion to NewEdge Wealth. Corient’s acquisition of Summit Trail is its latest step in its aggressive buying spree. It has been among the industry’s most active acquirers this year and recently agreed to purchase Seven Bridges Advisors, Capital Advisors and Palo Alto Wealth Advisors. Corient operates as the wealth management subsidiary of Canadian financial services firm CI Financial. CI Financial rebranded its U.S. wealth business as Corient in 2023 before being taken private in a $4.7 billion buyout led by Mubadala Capital, the asset management arm of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund.