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Toronto-based CI Financial Corp. is acquiring a majority interest in Aligned Capital Partners Inc., a Burlington, Ont.-based full-service advisory firm with $10 billion in assets and over 200 financial advisors across Canada.

“Aligned Capital, with its rapid growth, is an excellent partner for CI as we expand our wealth management platform,” said Kurt MacAlpine, CI CEO, in a release. “There is a strong fit between our firms given our shared focus on providing comprehensive wealth management services to clients.”

Said Christopher Enright, founding partner, president and managing director of Aligned Capital in the release: “CI’s financial strength and experience in both investment and wealth management will allow for the continued investment in technology, support and services for our advisors and their clients and drive the development of our business into its next stage.”

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020. Terms have not been disclosed.

Aligned Capital will continue to be operated by its existing management team of Enright and Michael Greer, founding partner, executive vice president and managing director.

“We believe that financial advice and the role of the financial advisor are more important today than at any point in history,” MacAlpine said. “Aligned Capital operates a truly unique business model, one that we are committed to maintaining. They have made significant investments in technology to assist their network of advice providers in the overarching goal of improving investor outcomes.”

The acquisition fits with CI’s strategic priority of expanding its wealth management platform, the firm indicated. CI will achieve cost efficiencies by providing Aligned Capital with access to its corporate services and through increased economies of scale in wealth management.

With the acquisition, CI will have approximately $59 billion in assets under Canadian wealth management and 1,100 advisor teams when including its Assante and Stonegate platforms. Combined with its U.S. registered investment advisory (RIA) business, which includes two recent transactions, CI will have about $74 billion in wealth management assets.

On Tuesday, CI announced it had reached an agreement to acquire Balasa Dinverno Foltz LLC of Itasca, Illinois-based RIA.