St. Louis-headquartered Matter Family Office and Denver-based IWP Family Office are joining forces to form a new multifamily office under the Matter brand, bringing more than $10 billion in client assets under one umbrella.
The newly combined firm is backed by private equity investor BW Forsyth Partners and will employ over 90 people across St. Louis, Denver and Dallas/Fort Worth. Together, they will serve roughly 140 client families.
The merger reflects the broader consolidation trend in wealth management, where firms are seeking scale, deeper capabilities and more robust infrastructure. Matter and IWP’s combined offering will span public and private investment management, family office administration, bill pay, reporting services and family learning and governance programmes.
Katherine Lintz, who founded Matter in 1990 when the firm was still known as KBL Financial, will serve as a managing partner. The firm adopted a partnership structure in 2015. IWP’s founder, Charlie Willhoit, will step into the role of CEO and managing partner. Willhoit joined IWP in 2005 after working as an equity research analyst at J.P. Morgan.
BW Forsyth Partners, the investment arm of Barry-Wehmiller, will hold a significant minority stake in the combined business, with the remainder owned by employees. The firm was already an investor in Matter and helped identify IWP as an acquisition fit. Matter had existing ties to IWP through its Denver presence and an introduction facilitated by Jamie McLaughlin of J. H. McLaughlin & Co.
According to BW Forsyth’s public positioning, the investor focuses on operational improvements and strategic development without limiting the autonomy of leadership teams. While its portfolio spans industrial and medical manufacturing equipment and professional services like insurance, Matter marks its first move into the RIA space.
The capital backing will support Matter’s technology investments, organic growth initiatives and future acquisitions.
Regulatory filings show both firms entering the merger from a similar size base: IWP reported $3.9 billion in assets and Matter $3.6 billion in their most recent Form ADVs.
The deal follows another major combination earlier this year, when Cresset grew its client assets from about $72 billion to nearly $200 billion through its merger with Monticello Associates. Cresset has minority private equity support from Constellation Wealth Capital, led by Karl Heckenberg.
