Red Bird’s Arax Partners Buys $3B Arizona RIA

Arax Investment Partners, a wealth management platform backed by private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners and led by former Raymond James executive Haig Ariyan, has acquired Ashton Thomas, a registered investment advisory firm with about $3 billion in assets.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ashton Thomas, based in Scottsdale, AZ, was formed in 2010 by CEO Aaron Brodt. According to SEC filings, the firm has over 1,700 clients and operates 12 offices in seven states.

The firm’s custodians include Fidelity Investments, TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, and Pershing Advisor Solutions, with Goldman Sachs adding in May.

Ariyan will join the firm as chairman, and Brodt will continue to serve as CEO.

“Haig’s vision and values match our own, and Arax’s unique and differentiated platform provides our advisors the ability to scale, while retaining an independent and entrepreneurial culture,” said Ashton Thomas founder and CEO, Aaron Brodt.

Ariyan, who most recently served as president and CEO of Raymond James’ Alex. Brown unit, launched Arax in 2022. The “multi-boutique” wealth management platform is designed to be a growth platform for RIAs, hybrid wealth managers, and advisor teams aiming to scale their practice.

Ariyan left Raymond James in June to join RedBird, where he was charged with developing a new wealth platform for the private equity firm – Arax is the product of that endeavor. This is the platform’s first RIA acquisition.

The transaction marks yet another foray into an increasingly competitive industry of private equity-backed investments trying to consolidate RIAs due to their relatively consistent profits.