Captrust, a Raleigh investment advisory company, surpasses $1 trillion in client assets

Captrust, the Raleigh-based wealth management firm , said Tuesday it has eclipsed $1 trillion in total client assets — a significant milestone for a company that started as a small investment advisory company in Raleigh in 1997.

Why it matters: Captrust, along with fellow North Hills-headquartered First Citizens Bank, are increasingly elevating Raleigh's standing in the financial industry.

State of play: In addition to hitting $1 trillion in client assets, Captrust reached a valuation of $3.7 billion last year after landing an investment from the private-equity company The Carlyle Group.

• First Citizens, on the other hand, recently became the country's 15th largest bank thanks to the success of acquiring Silicon Valley Bank's assets.

What they're saying: Fielding Miller, the CEO of Captrust, told Axios that Raleigh is becoming a more attractive spot for people in the financial services industry to land.

• "Raleigh hasn't been a financial hub" historically, Miller said. "But with First Citizens, ourselves and some others, you have a lot of young folks that graduate college, go to Wall Street and have an experience but don't want to raise a family in New York now come back home."
• Captrust has 482 employees in Raleigh and five offices across North Carolina.

Like First Citizens, Captrust has seen its growth supercharge thanks to well-timed acquisitions. Miller said the goal is to continue acquiring other investment advisory firms, using the capital it has raised from Carlyle.

• Miller said that the investment advisory industry is going through a period of consolidation, and Captrust is one of a handful of firms with enough scale to be aggressive with acquisitions.
• "I don't see any end to the M&A opportunities," he added. "But for us it is not just about buying as many firms as you can. We have to have a good match."