The new investment will provide a material return for Harbourfront’s shareholders, including its investment advisors across its 60-plus Canadian branches.
VANCOUVER & BOSTON, June 23, 2026 -- Harbourfront Wealth Group (“Harbourfront”), a leading Canadian independent wealth management firm, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to receive a strategic investment from Boston-based private equity firm Berkshire Partners. Audax Private Equity, Harbourfront’s existing capital partner, will maintain a significant interest in Harbourfront following the completion of the deal. The transaction, valued at C$1.775 billion, is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, and expected to close in the second half of 2026.
Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Harbourfront has over C$22 billion of AUA and its 600 employees serve clients at more than 60 locations across Canada. The firm serves affluent and high-net-worth clients, offering comprehensive wealth management services through its CIRO-registered securities advisory firm and investment counsel portfolio manager (ICPM).
“Welcoming Berkshire Partners while continuing our partnership with Audax provides validation that Harbourfront has built one of the strongest independent wealth platforms in Canada,” noted Danny Popescu, Founder and Executive Chair of Harbourfront. "We’re pleased that we can reward our advisors through a partial liquidity event while giving them the ability to continue to grow their rollover equity.”
"Canada's wealth management landscape is undergoing a fundamental shift toward independence, transparency, and advisor-led growth,” noted Dave Bordeau, Managing Director at Berkshire Partners. “Harbourfront sits at the center of this transformation, and our partnership reflects our deep conviction in the management team, the strength of Harbourfront’s advisory teams and employees, and the long-term opportunity ahead."
“Harbourfront’s success is driven by exceptional advisors serving clients across Canada. Audax recognized that strength and supported our vision to establish Harbourfront as a preferred destination for advisors and their clients,” added Harbourfront CEO Richard McIntyre. “We’re excited to build on that momentum with Berkshire Partners, whose partnership will help us continue investing in our people, technology and capabilities while creating even greater opportunities for advisors to grow and participate in the value they help create.”
Since Audax Private Equity’s initial investment in 2022, Harbourfront has experienced a more than fivefold increase in AUA through a mix of organic growth, advisor recruitment, M&A, and the continued investment in technology solutions and capabilities to enhance the advisor and client experience. Five acquisitions since 2023 have helped to expand and deepen Harbourfront’s geographic footprint, while augmenting its service offering.
“We are excited to remain a significant shareholder in Harbourfront,” commented Bill Allen, a Senior Managing Director at Audax Private Equity. “We believed in the management team’s vision when we first invested in the firm, and as Harbourfront has surpassed our initial goals, we continue to be just as bullish today in the firm’s prospects going forward.”
Ardea Partners was lead advisor and Piper Sandler served as a co-advisor to Harbourfront, and CIBC Capital Markets acted as financial advisor to the Board of Directors and provided a fairness opinion in that capacity, while BMO Capital Markets and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as advisors to Berkshire Partners. Stikeman Elliott and Kirkland & Ellis provided legal counsel to Harbourfront and Audax, while Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt served in the same capacity to Berkshire Partners.
Audax Private Equity Media Contact:
Gasthalter & Co.
audaxprivateequity@gasthalter.com
About Harbourfront Wealth Group
Founded in 2013, Harbourfront Wealth Group is an independent wealth advisory and investment management group of companies with a rapidly growing network of over 60 locations across Canada. Harbourfront Wealth includes a CIRO-registered securities advisory firm, a portfolio manager, an insurance company, an asset management firm, and a U.S. SEC Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). Learn more: www.harbourfrontwealth.com.
About Berkshire Partners
Berkshire Partners is a 100% employee-owned, multi-sector specialist investor in private and public equity, with a focus on U.S.-based, middle-market companies. For more than four decades, the firm's private equity team has invested in well-positioned, growing companies across services, healthcare, industrials, and technology. Berkshire is currently investing from its Fund XI, with approximately $7.8 billion in commitments. Since inception, Berkshire Partners has made more than 140 private equity investments and has consistently worked in close partnership with management teams to build enduring businesses. Stockbridge, the firm's public equity group, was founded in 2007 and manages a concentrated portfolio seeking attractive long-term investments. For additional information, visit www.berkshirepartners.com.
About Audax Private Equity
Headquartered in Boston, with offices in San Francisco, New York, London and Hong Kong, Audax Private Equity is a leading private equity platform focused on investing across the North American middle market. Our objective is to accelerate value creation through our Buy & Build strategy and the Audax Value Agenda™, a holistic framework that seeks to create, enable, and protect value across every stage of the investment lifecycle. As of January 2026, Audax Private Equity had approximately $19.5 billion of assets under management and, since inception in 1999, has invested in more than 180 platforms and more than 1,500 add-on acquisitions. For more information, visit www.audaxprivateequity.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
