Cresset

Cresset is a U.S.-based multi-family office and private investment firm founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs Eric Becker and Avy Stein. The firm was established after the founders became dissatisfied with the fragmented service and limited breadth they had experienced as clients of other wealth-management providers. Cresset initially operated as a family office for the founders and related families, but developed into a broader wealth-management platform serving high-net-worth individuals, families, and other private clients. The firm's core proposition is an integrated approach to private wealth. Its activities include management of public-market and private investments, financial planning, estate planning, and tax planning. This multi-disciplinary model is intended to connect portfolio management with the wider financial, legal, tax, and intergenerational issues that affect affluent families. Cresset's offering is therefore positioned less as a single investment product and more as an ongoing advisory relationship supported by investment and planning capabilities. Cresset expanded primarily through acquisitions and combinations with established registered investment advisory and family-wealth businesses. In 2020, it acquired PagnatoKarp, an advisory firm reported to have managed approximately $2.3 billion at the time. In 2021, Cresset completed a combination with Berman Capital Advisors, adding approximately $4.7 billion in managed assets. The firm merged with Meristem Family Wealth in 2022, after which its reported managed assets exceeded $27 billion. In 2024, Cresset acquired Dallas-based CH Investment Partners, which was reported to manage approximately $6.2 billion in assets at the time of the transaction. This acquisition-led development transformed Cresset from a newly formed family-office operation into a sizable wealth-management platform. The firm reportedly had approximately 1,100 clients by 2021. By 2025, public reference material described Cresset as managing approximately $235 billion in assets under management and advisement. That figure is an assets-under-management-and-advisement measure rather than a statement of revenue, profit, or enterprise value, and its scope may include assets advised on as well as assets directly managed. Cresset remains a private business rather than a publicly traded brand. Its market identity is centered on personalized advice, institutional-quality investment access, and coordinated planning for wealthy families. The firm operates in the U.S. wealth-management and private-investment sector, with growth shaped by the integration of partner firms and advisory practices. The available reference material does not identify a public ticker, a parent company, or a separately disclosed legal owner.

Cresset was created in 2017 by entrepreneurs Eric Becker and Avy Stein. The founders formed the business in response to their dissatisfaction with conventional wealth-management relationships, particularly the lack of coordinated services across investments, financial planning, tax matters, and estate planning. The original operation was established to manage the assets of family members and related families, giving it the character of a private family office before it expanded into a multi-family office serving a wider client base. Cresset's development has been driven by a combination of organic expansion and acquisitions of established advisory firms. Its first major transaction identified in the available reference material was the 2020 acquisition of PagnatoKarp, a registered investment adviser that managed approximately $2.3 billion in assets at the time. The transaction broadened Cresset's advisory platform and contributed to its transition from a founder-led family-office structure into a larger wealth-management business. In 2021, Cresset completed its first merger by absorbing Berman Capital Advisors. Berman was reported to have approximately $4.7 billion in managed assets. The combination increased Cresset's scale and client base; by that year, the firm was reported to serve approximately 1,100 clients. The expansion also reinforced Cresset's model of bringing established advisory practices into a common multi-family-office platform. Cresset continued this consolidation strategy in 2022 through a merger with Meristem Family Wealth. At the conclusion of that combination, Cresset was reported to have more than $27 billion in managed assets. The merger added further family-wealth capabilities and increased the firm's presence in the market for comprehensive advice to affluent clients. In 2024, Cresset purchased CH Investment Partners, a Dallas-based advisory firm reported to manage approximately $6.2 billion in assets as of the acquisition. The transaction extended Cresset's reach and continued its emphasis on acquiring firms with established client relationships and investment-advisory operations. By 2025, reference material described Cresset as managing approximately $235 billion in assets under management and advisement. This measure combines assets directly managed with assets under advisement and should not be interpreted as revenue or net income. The firm's services cover public and private investments as well as estate, tax, and financial planning. Cresset remains privately held, and the available sources do not identify a stock-market listing, ticker, parent company, or public financial disclosures. Its history is consequently best understood as the formation and rapid scaling of a privately owned multi-family office through integrated advisory services and strategic combinations with other wealth-management businesses.

• 2025

  Reported scale reaches approximately $235 billion

  [1]Cresset (multi-family office)en.wikipedia.org

  Reference material described Cresset as managing approximately $235 billion in assets under management and advisement.

• 2024

  Acquisition of CH Investment Partners

  [1]Cresset (multi-family office)en.wikipedia.org

  Cresset purchased Dallas-based CH Investment Partners, reported to manage approximately $6.2 billion in assets at the time of acquisition.

• 2022

  Merger with Meristem Family Wealth

  [1]Cresset (multi-family office)en.wikipedia.org

  Cresset merged with Meristem Family Wealth, after which reported managed assets exceeded $27 billion.

• 2021

  Combination with Berman Capital Advisors

  [1]Cresset (multi-family office)en.wikipedia.org

  Cresset completed its first merger by absorbing Berman Capital Advisors, which was reported to have approximately $4.7 billion in managed assets.

• 2020

  Acquisition of PagnatoKarp

  [1]Cresset (multi-family office)en.wikipedia.org

  Cresset acquired PagnatoKarp, an advisory firm reported to manage approximately $2.3 billion in assets.

• 2017

  Cresset is founded

  [1]Cresset (multi-family office)en.wikipedia.org

  Eric Becker and Avy Stein founded Cresset as a family-office and wealth-management operation focused initially on assets associated with their families.

An integrated, relationship-led multi-family office for high-net-worth clients, combining investment management with estate, tax, and broader financial planning.

• Professional services · 2017

  Multi-family office services

  Cresset provides coordinated advice for high-net-worth individuals and families. The offering brings together investment oversight and broader financial planning, with the objective of giving clients a single relationship for managing complex private wealth needs.

• Wealth management · 2017

  Investment management

  The firm manages public and private investments for wealthy clients. Its investment activity forms part of a broader advisory model rather than being presented as a standalone retail investment product.

• Financial planning · 2017

  Estate and tax planning

  Cresset supports clients with estate and tax planning alongside portfolio and financial advice. These services address the preservation, transfer, and tax-efficient management of family wealth.

• 2024

  Purchase CH Investment PartnersM&A

  Background

  Cresset continued its acquisition-led growth by adding a Dallas-based investment advisory firm.

  Action taken

  Cresset purchased CH Investment Partners.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition expanded Cresset's advisory platform by adding a business reported to manage approximately $6.2 billion in assets.

  Assets managed by acquired firm. $6.2 billion (At the date of the 2024 acquisition)

  Source

• 2022

  Merge with Meristem Family WealthM&A

  Background

  Cresset pursued another combination to increase its scale in family-wealth advisory services.

  Action taken

  Cresset merged with Meristem Family Wealth.

  Aftermath

  Following the merger, Cresset had more than $27 billion in managed assets according to the reference material.

  Managed assets. More than $27 billion (Following the 2022 merger)

  Source

• 2021

  Merge with Berman Capital AdvisorsM&A

  Background

  Cresset continued scaling through the combination of its platform with an established advisory business.

  Action taken

  Cresset absorbed Berman Capital Advisors in its first merger.

  Aftermath

  The merger added approximately $4.7 billion in managed assets, while Cresset was reported to have approximately 1,100 clients during 2021.

  Assets managed by acquired firm. $4.7 billion (At the time of the 2021 merger)

  Source

• 2020

  Acquire PagnatoKarpM&A

  Background

  Cresset sought to expand its wealth-management platform through the acquisition of an established registered investment adviser.

  Action taken

  Cresset acquired PagnatoKarp, reported to manage approximately $2.3 billion in assets.

  Aftermath

  The transaction accelerated Cresset's development from a family-office operation into a larger multi-family wealth-management business.

  Assets managed by acquired firm. $2.3 billion (At the time of the 2020 acquisition)

  Source

1. 1Cresset (multi-family office)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Cresset official websitecressetcapital.com