Merchant takes minority stake in Elevation Point as Emigrant exits

Merchant Investment Management took a minority stake in Elevation Point and provided an expanded credit facility, replacing Emigrant Partners as capital partner, WealthManagement.com reported Nov. 9.

Terms were not disclosed. Jim Dickson, who launched the Minneapolis-based RIA accelerator in 2024, said the deal includes a "significant increase" in the firm's delayed draw term loan. He said Elevation Point chose to give Emigrant a strong return and bring a single partner onto its cap table. Emigrant Partners, the RIA capital and advisory arm of Emigrant Bank, has exited the investment. Merchant is a New York-based private partnership that provides growth capital and other support to independent financial services firms.

For owners of RIAs weighing an Elevation Point minority stake, the firm's funding now rests on one new equity partner and a larger credit line. An earlier Private Wealth Daily analysis found Elevation Point typically takes a 20% minimum stake. A larger delayed draw term loan gives the firm more borrowing capacity to fund new stakes at the pace Dickson describes. The size of the loan and the draw terms are the questions to put to the firm in diligence, because they determine how much capacity sits behind each new stake.

Elevation Point has invested in 15 advisory firms representing $18 billion in client assets under supervision since its 2024 inception, according to WealthManagement.com. That averages roughly $1.2 billion per firm. Dickson told the outlet in June that the firm would seek more capital as it pursues a $50 billion goal within two years, and that it will make investments this quarter in firms with $6 billion in total assets. Last week it took a minority stake in Cleros Wealth Partners, a new $3.61 billion RIA that left UBS. Elevation Point also announced an Oct. 20 stake in a $750 million ex-UBS team, as Private Wealth Daily previously reported.