Arax adds private capital markets services through KingsRock partnership

Arax, which has assembled a client book of more than $45 billion by taking control stakes in RIAs and advisor teams, announced Oct. 1 a strategic partnership with KingsRock Advisors that opens those clients to the independent global advisory firm's work in capital raising, structured financing and strategic transaction advisory.

The release frames the pairing as complementing Arax's existing investment banking capabilities, and founder and chief executive Haig Ariyan is direct about which clients are expected to use them. "Our advisors have deep relationships with business owners, and we see a significant opportunity to support them beyond their traditional wealth management needs," he said, describing KingsRock as adding expertise and resources as clients' businesses grow and evolve.

The announcement names no price, equity stake or fee split and describes two independent firms working together; for the RedBird Capital-backed platform that means acquisition capital stays reserved for the RIA deals that built it — Arax, by its own description, makes strategic control investments in established RIAs and advisor teams — while investment banking capacity arrives through a partner at no purchase price.

KingsRock gets distribution: founder and managing partner Håkan Wohlin and co-founder and managing partner Louis Jaffe, who have been expanding the firm across the Americas and Europe, describe its work as bridging traditional investment banking and private capital markets. "Arax has built a strong wealth management business with trusted client relationships," Wohlin said, and Jaffe added that KingsRock looks forward to working alongside Arax's team to bring advisory, capital markets expertise and global reach to clients seeking tailored financing and strategic opportunities.

This publication described Arax as a $43 billion platform in August; the release now puts client assets above $45 billion, with new advisory teams and clients cited as the source of the growth. The RIA buying market Arax works in has been thinning—DeVoe counted deal volume down 19% in the third quarter through Sept. 22, and Fidelity's midyear report put the median acquired RIA at $630 million, up from $517 million—so buying capability outright costs more than borrowing it from a partner.

The private markets on-ramp has itself become an acquisition target, with named deals taking the money. Arax is testing a different assembly method: no capital changing hands, nothing said about exclusivity, and the promise resting on advisors' business-owner relationships rather than a product shelf. The evidence will arrive as a named financing or sale mandate that reaches KingsRock because an Arax advisor picked up the phone.