Sequoia Financial brings California advisory firm under its ownership
Top headlines of the week video, Dec. 20, 2025
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- Fairlawn-based Sequoia Financial Group acquires Sterling Financial Group, a Pasadena, California-based independent advisory firm with a seven-member team and 200 clients.
- Sterling Financial had $406 million in assets under management as of Sept. 30. Sequoia Financial ad $29.9 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30.
- The acquisition establishes Sequoia’s first standalone office in California and marks its 11th acquisition since 2023.
Fairlawn-based wealth manager Sequoia Financial Group has acquired Sterling Financial Group, an independent advisory firm based in Pasadena, California.
Since 1998, Sterling Financial’s advisers have provided individuals, multi-generational families and small businesses with personalized investment advisory services, according to a news release from Sequoia Financial.
Sterling Financial, registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has a team of seven people, 200 clients and $406 million in assets under management as of Sept. 30, the release said.
Michael Hatch, owner and managing principle of Sterling Financial, and Kody Brown, Financial adviser and principal of the Pasadena-based firm, are now equity owners in Sequoia Financial, per the release.
“The team at Sterling Financial is an excellent cultural fit and gives us a stronger foothold into California, the nation’s most populous state,” Tom Haught, chairman, CEO and president of Sequoia Financial, said in a prepared statement. “We welcome the experienced and talented Sterling Financial team and their clients to the Sequoia Financial family.”
Hatch said in a provided statement that Sterling Financial works with long-term clients as well as “those dealing with once in a lifetime transitions, such as a business succession or settling the estate of a loved one.”
“In Sequoia Financial, we have found a true partner that understands our holistic approach,” Hatch said. “We have great confidence in our future together — one that emphasizes an exceptional client experience and is anchored in continual investments in the growth and development of our team.”
By studying the marketplace, Brown said in a prepared statement, “… it was evident that Sequoia’s deep investment research platform and technology leadership would best serve our clients in the years ahead.”
The purchase of Sterling Financial establishes Sequoia’s first standalone office in California, building upon Sequoia’s wealth management relationship with Eide Bailly, a top-20 accounting firm. Sequoia Financial previously had a presence in the offices of Eide Bailly in Irvine and Torrance, California.
Benesch served as legal adviser to Sequoia, and Shustak, Reynolds & Partners P.C. served as legal adviser to Sterling Financial, while DeVoe & Company represented Sterling Financial in the transaction.
Sequoia Financial is an SEC-registered firm with $29.9 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30. It has served high-net-worth individuals and families for more than 30 years. It created Sequoia Sentinel, a family office, in 2023.
Sequoia has made 11 acquisitions since 2023, including Affinia Financial Group, AltruVista, Carlson Capital Management, Cirrus Wealth Management, Eide Bailley Wealth, Family Asset Management, Karpas Strategies, M Capital Advisors, The Martin Worley Group and Zeke Capital Advisors.
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