Arax Buys $9B Hybrid Wealth Manager 

Arax Investment Partners, a wealth management platform backed by private investment firm RedBird Capital Partners, announced the acquisition of U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors (USCWA), a hybrid wealth management firm managing approximately $9 billion in total assets across over 5,500 clients and 62 advisors. 

The deal for the Houston-based firm brings Arax’s total assets to over $16 billion. 

U.S. Capital Advisors, co-founded by Pat Mendenhall and Dave King, combined its advisory wealth business with Legacy One Financial in 2021, a Merchant Investment Management–backed RIA, to form USCWA led by Jim Fortescue, Mendenhall and King.  

USCWA, with additional offices in Austin, Dallas and Georgetown, TX, as well as New York and Massachusetts, will maintain its branding, core advisor and client-facing operations. 

“Bringing in this multi-custodial advisory platform along with the capabilities of U.S. Capital’s broker-dealer will create further opportunities for advisors and their clients across the Arax platform,” said Haig Ariyan, CEO of Arax. 

NY-based Arax, which now has 120 advisors serving 12,000 clients, will continue to operate as a multi-boutique platform, providing services across back-and-middle office functions, as well as enhancing organic and inorganic growth through new product and service capabilities, cross-selling, and supporting M&A sourcing and execution for USCWA, Ashton Thomas, and the other advisory firms already on the platform, the firm said. 

In January, Arax acquired Excel Securities & Associates, Inc., a $1 billion independent broker-dealer and RIA with multiple locations, that now operates as Ashton Thomas Securities.