WealthManagement.com reported on Nov. 3, 2026 that Hightower Advisors has folded Altium Wealth, a practice with more than $9 billion in assets under management, into its Hightower Signature Wealth division. The move lifts the division's assets past $50 billion, according to the firm's announcement. InvestmentNews also covered the deal, describing it as the latest in a string of internal conversions during what it called a record-pace year for RIA M&A.
According to Hightower's announcement, Altium will join Hightower Signature Wealth and extend its investment capabilities across the Hightower One platform. Altium's 10-person investment team will take on an expanded role within that platform. The firm said the expanded relationship significantly increases the division's presence in the Northeast. After the deal, the division manages more than $50 billion and includes more than 175 advisors across more than 45 locations nationwide. The $9 billion figure is assets under management. The sources reviewed do not disclose the financial terms of the transaction.
Hightower's chief executive, Larry Restieri, described Altium as adding substantial size, seasoned advisers and advanced investment offerings to the division, according to the firm's announcement. Altium founding partner Jim Dowling said the structure allows the practice to keep its client relationships and investment discipline while gaining resources.
Hightower made a strategic investment in Altium in March 2022, when the firm was described as a $2.7 billion practice in Purchase, N.Y., according to Hightower's 2022 release. At that time Altium had 39 employees, including 18 advisors. The firm was founded in 2010, and the 2022 release named Jim Dowling and Anthony DeStefano as founders. In October 2024 Hightower said it facilitated a partnership between Altium, which then had offices in New York and Connecticut, and Boston advisor Kimberly Clouse. That partnership was expected to bring Altium's total AUM to more than $6 billion.
Hightower is headquartered in Chicago. Thomas H. Lee Partners is its majority shareholder, and InvestmentNews reported the firm manages $325 billion in assets. Hightower's own figure for June 30, 2025 was approximately $324.3 billion in AUM across Hightower and its affiliates. Restieri took over as chief executive in June 2025, following a 25-year stretch at Goldman Sachs, where he led the Ayco wealth planning unit. He succeeded Bob Oros.
Hightower launched Hightower Signature Wealth on Oct. 15, 2025 as its first national direct-to-consumer advisory practice. Frontier Investment Management, a Dallas-based partner firm, was the first practice to join. In April 2026 Hightower acquired The Bahnsen Group, a Newport Beach, Calif.-headquartered RIA with $9.5 billion in AUM, according to WealthManagement.com. In July 2026 three more practices were added, bringing the division to approximately $35 billion in AUM, more than 140 advisors and more than 40 locations, according to a Yahoo Finance report. WealthManagement.com also reported that Restieri had said he expected the division to reach about $50 billion by year-end.
Hightower One is the centralized platform for the division. A regulatory filing dated March 31, 2026 pointed to progress toward the platform's debut and characterizes it as run by an in-house group handling trading and operations, WealthManagement.com reported. According to Family Wealth Report, Restieri indicated that practices entering the channel will be W-2 staff, whereas Frontier and similar firms stay in a partner-based K-1 arrangement.
Independent records do not yet confirm the Altium figure. Third-party aggregator profiles list lower numbers for Altium, including about $2.94 billion in AUM and 36 employees, and another profile lists $2.7 billion and 25 advisors. Those profiles are undated or appear outdated. Altium's Form ADV has not been checked directly, so the $9 billion figure currently rests on Hightower's announcement.