MAI Capital Management buys Garrison Asset Management in Fayetteville

BusinessFinanceNorthwest Arkansas

by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) ago 0 views 

Cleveland-based MAI Capital Management, a registered investment adviser and wealth management firm, has acquired Fayetteville-based wealth management firm Garrison Asset Management, according to a Monday (Jan. 6) news release. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

According to Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s largest locally owned independent wealth management firms list on Oct. 7, Garrison ranked No. 5 with managed assets of $336.2 million in 2024, up 20.9% from $278 million in 2023. Accounts rose by 3.8% to 606 from 584. Investment clients comprised 311, from more than 250. The firm was founded in 1988.

Kerry Bradley, president and equity portfolio manager, and James Bell, vice president and equity portfolio manager, became the owners of Garrison in 2017. As part of MAI, they both will become senior portfolio managers.

“Not only are we adding excellent wealth advisors through the addition of the Garrison team, but we are also bringing in distinguished investment expertise to help grow our clients’ portfolios,” said Stephen Chaffin and Jay White, regional presidents at MAI in the Little Rock area. “We’re looking forward to bringing Kerry, James, and team on board as talented advisors who share our ‘client first’ mentality.”

Garrison joined MAI on Dec. 20 and will adopt MAI’s brand identity and receive its internal infrastructure, including human resources, operations and marketing.

“When evaluating our next step, we knew we needed a firm that would understand our clients like we do as well as could provide the resources to enhance our services,” said Bradley and Bell. “Like MAI, we are driven by the opportunity to truly help individuals, families, and organizations accomplish their financial goals and are looking forward to utilizing these new resources as well as offering our decades of expertise focused on making people’s financial lives better.”

As of Sept. 30, MAI had $30.3 billion in total assets, including $3.1 billion in assets under advisement. MAI has offices in 16 U.S. states and over 475 employees.