Brown Advisory traces its origins to Alex. Brown & Sons, an investment bank headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland that was the first investment bank in the United States. In 1974, Alex. Brown Investment Management (ABIM) was established as the investment management unit of Alex. Brown & Sons where it managed assets and distributed
mutual funds. In 1993, Brown Advisory was established as another investment management unit of Alex. Brown & Sons where it aimed to provide investment guidance to
high-net-worth individuals and focused on financing
growth companies. When Alex. Brown & Sons was acquired by
Bankers Trust, both units continued to operate under it. In 1998, the management team of Brown Advisory led a
management buyout leading to Brown Advisory being
spun off from Bankers Trust as an independent firm. At the time, it had $2.5 billion in
assets under management (AUM). Not too long after, Bankers Trust was acquired by
Deutsche Bank in 1999. In 2001, the management team of ABIM lead a management buyout leading ABIM to being spun-off as an independent firm from Deutsche Bank. On July 7, 2008, Brown Advisory and ABIM agreed to a merger under the Brown Advisory brand name. The combined firm at the time would have $18 billion AUM. In September 2016, Brown Advisory acquired Blackhaw Wealth Management, a small investment company in
Austin, Texas. In 2018, Brown Advisory made a series of acquisitions. On February 22, it acquired NextGen Venture Partners, a
venture capital firm based in
Washington, D.C. On March 28, it acquired Meritage Capital, a $1.2 billion
hedge fund solutions provider based in Austin, Texas. On November 16, it acquired Signature Family Wealth Advisor, a $4.3 billion
family office advisory firm based in
Norfolk, Virginia. In April 2019, Brown Advisory expanded into the
Asia-Pacific region after opening an office in Singapore. In February 2021, Brown Advisory and Meriebelle Stable took over from
RSA Insurance Group as a sponsor of the
Brown Advisory Novices' Chase. In May 2023,
Governor of Maryland,
Wes Moore, put $2.5 million worth of investments in a
blind trust, which was reported to be managed by Brown Advisory. Under the structure of the trust, Brown Advisory had 90 days to reduce the holdings of
Cannabis company, Thumb Industries, from 46 percent to less than 20 percent of the trust's assets. ==References==