Ascent Asset Management acquired Robert R. Meredith. Terms were not disclosed. The two firms will be combined to form Ascent/Meredith Asset Management, with nearly $1 billion under management. The bulk of the assets — about $900 million — come from Meredith; about 25% of those assets are from institutional investors, said Peggy A. Farley, president and CEO. Ms. Farley is also the chief investment officer for Ascent/Meredith Portfolio Management, the asset management subsidiary, which structures balanced portfolios comprising stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Ms. Farley manages equities for the subsidiary, and Wolfgang Schoellkopf heads fixed-income strategy. Robert R. Meredith will become the company’s broker-dealer subsidiary.
In a separate move, the company formed Ascent Private Equity, a merchant bank that will provide capital to startup and early mezzanine-stage companies. The company, led by Mark Maciejewski, president and CEO, will initially raise $100 million for the Ascent Medical and Technology Fund, its first fund. Mr. Maciejewski just joined the firm from the medical products industry.
