Karl Heckenberg’s private equity firm Constellation Wealth Capital is buying a minority stake in Procyon Partners, a registered investment advisory firm that oversees more than $8 billion in assets. The firms didn’t disclose terms of the transaction.
Phil Fiore, CEO of Procyon, says the deal marks the first time his Shelton, Conn.-based firm has taken outside money since it was founded in 2017 by former UBS advisors. “We built this thing and were steadfast doing it ourselves,” he says.
Heckenberg says Constellation was attracted to Procyon because of its leadership, growth, and the scale it’s already achieved. “What really impressed us is the engagement and collaboration, and how thoughtful they were about growing out the business,” he says.
Procyon has plans to expand its operations and enhance services such as tax planning. Fiore says they picked Constellation because of the firm’s ability to advise RIAs on growth.
“It goes well beyond capital,” he says. “The capital side at our level is easy. We can get money. That isn’t the problem. We needed a partner who could help us think strategically.” Heckenberg’s reputation and experience was a factor. “I don’t need to teach them what an RIA is,” says Fiore. “They can give us counsel as to what this can look like in five or seven years.”
Procyon, which is part of the Dynasty Financial Partners’ network, serves institutions and private clients. Houlihan Lokey served as the investment banking advisor to Procyon and Dynasty Investment Bank supported Procyon’s management team, according to the firm.
Heckenberg founded Constellation in 2023 ,after having served as CEO of Fiduciary Network. Constellation has made investments in wealth managers such as Lido Advisors and AlTi Tiedemann. “Part of the idea behind Constellation is that there is a huge capital in the RIA space but it’s geared toward buyouts,” he says. He says Procyon is a good example of a firm that already has a successful business, but which could grow further with additional capital and expertise.
Recent stock market volatility may curb RIA dealmaking, but it also creates opportunities for RIAs like Procyon to pick up clients, Heckenberg says.
