InvestmentNews reported on Nov. 2, 2026 that Accelerated Wealth Partners has struck a staking arrangement with Pallas Capital Advisors, a Braintree, Massachusetts registered investment adviser. According to the firm's press release issued the same day, Pallas oversees about $5 billion in client assets. InvestmentNews said the deal adds five next-gen leaders to Pallas's ownership ranks. The release names them as Joe Cullen, James Landry, Eric Lalime, Andrew Krout and Athol Cochrane, who become equity partners.
Neither the release nor the InvestmentNews summary disclosed the price of the transaction or the size of AWP's stake. The $5 billion figure measures client assets under management, not the value of the deal. The release says the investment will fund organic growth and mergers and acquisitions. It also says Pallas's founders and partners will continue to lead the firm, including its culture, brand and client experience. In the release, Pallas founding partner and CEO Rich Mullen described the firm's aim as leading nationally in ultra-high-net-worth wealth management. Eric Amar, AWP's founder, is also quoted in the announcement.
Pallas was founded in 2019 by Rich Mullen, Greg Boyle and Charlie Evangelakos, according to a republished version of the firm's announcement in Middletown Life Magazine. FA Magazine reported that the firm was formed in 2019 and became a registered investment adviser the following year. Wealth Management reported that Mullen and two other partners left large wirehouses, including Morgan Stanley, Lincoln Financial and UBS, to found the firm. FA Magazine said Mullen previously worked at UBS, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management and Prudential Securities. The release describes Pallas as an independent firm with offices in Braintree and Wakefield, Massachusetts, and in Rhode Island and New Jersey.
Wealth Management reported that Pallas opened its fifth office, in Newport, Rhode Island, in June 2022, when it had just under $2 billion in assets. Mullen forecast about $5 billion within three years at that time. Pallas has also recruited wirehouse teams. FA Magazine reported that a UBS team with $300 million in assets joined, which Mullen described as the firm's first move to attract wirehouse advisors. The source does not date that move.
Public directories report a much smaller figure. Retire.ly and US News both list Pallas at $4.3 billion in AUM, and AdvisorSearch reports the same figure. Unbiased cites about $2.28 billion, and Wiser Advisor cites about $2.97 billion in older data. Advisor counts also vary across directories. We have not independently verified the firm's $5 billion figure, and the directory data should be read as third-party estimates.
AWP characterizes its business as a specialist investor that concentrates on helping strong RIAs grow. FA Magazine reported that AWP is headquartered in New York City, and the Braintree dateline on its release refers to Pallas. Markets Group reported that AWP was founded by Eric Amar, who left Focus Financial Partners in March 2024, where he had been chief growth officer. Founding dates conflict: Wealth Management says AWP was founded in 2024, while Markets Group says it began operating in mid-2025. J.C. Flowers & Co. committed up to $200 million in equity to launch AWP, according to its announcement on March 2, 2026. That $200 million is equity capital, not assets under management or a deal price. Markets Group reported that J.C. Flowers co-president Eric Rahe and vice president Ted Lydon joined the AWP board.
AWP's model, as Markets Group describes it, is minority stakes, or sometimes majority stakes, in a handful of RIAs, usually in the form of common shares. According to Markets Group, the firm limits its portfolio to a maximum of five to seven investments at any one time. Its earlier deals include a minority stake in Houston-based RIA Advisors, announced March 25, 2026. FA Magazine put that firm at $1.6 billion in AUM, while AdvisorHub cited $1.84 billion in regulatory filings. AWP also made a minority investment in Brooklyn Fi in May 2026. InvestmentNews reported in March that AWP planned five or six RIA investments targeting firms with $1 billion to $4 billion in AUM. The $5 billion Pallas figure in the release sits above that range, while two directory figures, Unbiased's $2.28 billion and Wiser Advisor's $2.97 billion, fall within it. InvestmentNews also reported that Josh Bronfman, a Focus Financial alumnus, joined AWP as managing director of M&A and investments.
For advisors and firm leaders watching deal activity, the pattern is a buyer taking stakes in larger RIAs while keeping founders in place. Terms, valuation and the size of AWP's interest remain undisclosed in the sources reviewed. Future announcements may clarify them.