# Hightower moves $9 billion Altium Wealth into Signature Wealth unit

URL: https://www.financialadvsr.com/article/hightower-moves-9-billion-altium-wealth-into-signature-wealth-d08aea
Published: November 4, 2026
By: Vivian Cole, Deals Correspondent
Section: Deals
Publisher: Financial ADVSR (https://www.financialadvsr.com)

Hightower has folded Altium Wealth, a practice with more than $9 billion in assets, into its Signature Wealth unit, extending a continued consolidation push at the firm.

Citywire RIA reported that Hightower Advisors has folded Altium Wealth, a practice with more than $9 billion in assets under management, into Hightower Signature Wealth, the firm's consumer-facing unit. Citywire RIA's summary describes the move as one of the largest Hightower affiliates to merge into that business to date. AdvisorHub separately reported the deal as part of a continued consolidation push at Hightower.

Hightower's own announcement, as summarised in the research notes, says Altium will join Hightower Signature Wealth and extend its investment capabilities through Hightower One, the firm's in-house platform for portfolio construction and investment management. According to AdvisorHub, Altium's 10-person investment team gets a larger role on that platform. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The $9 billion figure measures client assets under management, not the price of the deal.

Fa-mag reported that the transaction closed earlier in the month. Once the move is complete, Signature Wealth, which the firm abbreviates as HTSW, manages more than $50 billion and includes more than 175 advisors across more than 45 locations nationwide, according to Hightower's release. According to AdvisorHub, Hightower's leaders have described cash and Hightower equity as available to advisors who transition into Signature Wealth.

Altium was founded in 2010 and is based in Purchase, New York, with offices in Madison, Connecticut and Brookline, Massachusetts, according to AdvisorHub. Wealth Management reported that Altium serves individuals, families and institutions and offers tax management, financial planning and customizable direct indexing. Hightower first invested in Altium in 2022, when the practice had $2.7 billion in assets; AdvisorHub reported that it has since more than tripled. Imdealsblog reported that 39 Altium staff members, including 18 advisors, joined Hightower at that time. In October 2024, Hightower facilitated Altium's combination with Boston advisor Kimberly Clouse, which Hightower's Business Wire release said brought Altium's total assets above $6 billion.

AdvisorHub describes James J. Dowling, a co-founder of Altium, as one of 17 partners at the practice. Wealth Management, citing BrokerCheck, reported that Dowling was one of seven founders who left the broker-dealer Park Avenue Securities to launch a firm in 2010. Hightower is headquartered in Chicago, according to unbiased.com, and is majority owned by the private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, according to AdvisorHub. Wealth Management reported that Larry Restieri, Hightower's CEO, joined the firm in June from Goldman Sachs. According to the firm, as cited by AdvisorHub, Hightower and its affiliates oversaw almost $354 billion at the end of 2025.

Signature Wealth launched in October 2025 as Hightower's first national direct-to-consumer advisory practice, according to Hightower's launch release. It was seeded by Frontier Investment Management, a Dallas-based practice with $3.3 billion in assets that Hightower bought in 2020, per InvestmentNews. Wealth Management reported that Hightower set a target of 20% to 25% of the RIA's assets over a relatively short period. Before Altium, InvestmentNews reported, Signature Wealth absorbed Synergy Capital Solutions, a Michigan practice with about $1 billion, in October.

InvestmentNews reported that Echelon Partners tallied seven Hightower deals in Q3 totaling roughly $10.1 billion in assets. Of those seven, Echelon said four moved existing affiliates into the Signature Wealth channel, a change it interpreted as a move from acquisition-led growth to integration. Earlier in the rollout, InvestmentNews reported, Hightower brought five more advisory practices into Signature Wealth, taking the unit above $20.8 billion.

The sources do not give a timeline for further affiliate conversions or describe any changes to the terms for advisors beyond the cash and equity options Hightower executives have mentioned. For now, the Altium deal is one of the largest Hightower affiliates to join a channel that Echelon reads as moving from acquiring practices toward folding existing affiliates into a single brand.

Key facts:
- Altium Wealth has more than $9 billion in assets under management, per Hightower's announcement; terms were not disclosed.
- After the move, Signature Wealth manages more than $50 billion, with over 175 advisors across more than 45 locations.
- Altium had $2.7 billion in assets when Hightower first invested in 2022, per AdvisorHub.
- Echelon Partners counted seven Hightower transactions in Q3 adding about $10.1 billion in assets.
- Signature Wealth launched in October 2025 as Hightower's first national direct-to-consumer advisory practice.

Why it matters: For advisors weighing a move, the Altium deal shows Hightower offering affiliated practices a path into a branded consumer channel, with cash and equity on the table, according to executives cited by AdvisorHub. Team leaders and firm executives can read it as a sign that large affiliates are being integrated rather than kept as separate practices, a shift Echelon Partners has identified across several deals.

Sources:
- Citywire RIA: https://citywire.com/ria/news/hightower-folds-9bn-affiliate-altium-into-signature-wealth-biz/a2502523
- AdvisorHub: https://www.advisorhub.com/hightower-folds-9-billion-affiliate-into-signature-wealth/
- wealthmanagement.com: https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ria-news/hightower-rolls-9b-altium-wealth-into-htsw
- investmentnews.com: https://www.investmentnews.com/ria-news/hightower-signature-wealth-tops-50b-with-9b-altium-addition/268853
- financialcontent.com: https://www.financialcontent.com/article/bizwire-2026-11-3-hightower-signature-wealth-exceeds-50-billion-in-aum-through-expanded-partnership-with-altium-wealth
- fa-mag.com: https://www.fa-mag.com/news/hightower-adds--9b-internal-n-y--firm-into-hightower-signature-wealth-89057.html
- businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251015717422/en/Hightower-Announces-Launch-of-Hightower-Signature-Wealth