Cerity Partners has entered the nondiscretionary institutional investment consulting space with the acquisition of Verus Investments. The deal will bring Verus’ more than 80-person team, research capabilities, and $1.2 trillion in institutional assets under advisement under the Cerity brand by the end of the quarter.
Kurt Miscinski, CEO of Cerity, said in a statement: “This partnership meaningfully expands our leadership in the institutional space and strengthens our ability to serve clients of all sizes, complexities, and delegation preferences.” Verus provides investment advice to public, nonprofit, multi-employer, and corporate clients.
This deal marks Cerity’s foray into the nondiscretionary institutional advisory side, according to Tom Cohn, a partner at the private equity-backed investment firm (Genstar is a majority owner).
“Previously we have not had the capability to service non-discretionary clients on a consistent and scaled basis,” Cohn told Institutional Investor, adding that “this widens our clients in delegation authority and also by size.”
For the past few years, the $156 billion Cerity has been aggressively targeting growth through M&A. In 2022, the firm acquired Permit Capital Advisors and Agility’s OCIO firm in 2024. With the inclusion of Verus’ team and capabilities into Cerity’s suite of offerings, Cohn said the firm feels it has what it needs to be a full-stop institutional shop.
“We now have a complete suite of services to meet the needs of any institution,” he said. “With this merger we believe we have accomplished that.”
