Cresset Acquires Connable Office To Enhance Services

By Amit Chowdhry • Jun 13, 2024

Cresset Asset Management announced its acquisition of The Connable Office, one of the nation’s oldest multi-family offices. Based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan and organized as a private trust company, Connable has been carried forward for over 130 years. With this acquisition, the combined firm will manage more than $52 billion in assets on behalf of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

Started as a single-family office in the late 1800s, Connable has served 7 generations of its founding family and numerous other multi-generational client families throughout the country. And like Cresset, Connable was founded by clients, for clients. Connable is differentiated by its stability, expertise, and personalized service as a multi-generational trust company and family office.

Headed by its principals, Loyal Eldridge III, Kenneth Larason, James Melvin, and Bradley Weller, the Connable team brings its deep experience in family office services, investing, and trust and foundation administration to enhance Cresset’s in-house talent. And building on Cresset’s existing trust company services, the partnership with Connable adds significant scale and capability in insourced trust administration services. Plus, Connable clients will have access to Cresset’s expansive suite of services, including Cresset’s private investment program, family governance and education, risk management, peer-to-peer learning opportunities, concierge services and more.

As a $52 billion multi-family office, the combined firm can access the same personalized and high-touch solutions and opportunities that many of the largest endowments and single-family offices in the country enjoy.

Republic Capital Group served as financial advisor and Alston & Bird LLP served as legal counsel to Connable.

KEY QUOTES:

“Cresset and Connable together are an outstanding cultural fit. We are the powerful combination of a firm with a 100+ year legacy and one that has been built for the next 100 years. Both Cresset and Connable have built the firms we wanted for our own families, and we are honored to share that with other successful families as well. Our combined business is designed to serve our clients for generations to come.”

  • Eric Becker, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Cresset

“We are excited to partner with the Cresset team and provide our client families with comprehensive services for another 130+ years. Our firms share a client-first mentality and employ a holistic, team-based approach to client service. We are optimistic for what the future holds for our clients and team members alike.”

  • James Melvin, CEO of Connable