Hightower buys Massachusetts RIA with $625 million in AUM

Lexington-based Bickling Financial Services, founded in 1984, has three offices across the state.

Hightower said Monday it acquired Bickling Financial Services Inc., a registered investment advisor that oversees $625 million in assets and has three offices in Massachusetts.

The firm was founded in 1984 by Dorothy Bickling, who was one of the first women to earn the certified financial planner designation.

Her sons, Spencer Betts and Andrew Betts, are now co-managing principals of the firm; Spencer Betts joined the firm in 2000 and Andrew Betts in 2007.

Bickling has five advisors and 14 employees overall.

Hightower, a Chicago-based RIA aggregator, said that at the end of 2022, it had $144.3 billion in assets under administration and $113.7 billion in assets under management.

Last week, Hightower announced that it had facilitated a merger between one of its units, TC Wealth Partners, and EFG Advisors, a wealth management firm overseeing more than $800 million in assets.