Flush with resources supplied by buyout partner Lightyear Capital, executives at RidgeWorth are now in shopping mode, quietly checking out boutiques to either buy, hire as a subadvisor or provide distribution for.

Lightyear helped RidgeWorth buy its freedom from parent SunTrust in December, and now "we're ready to grow this firm to the next level," according to Bob Kuberski, managing director for RidgeWorth's wealth advisor channel.

"By May, we will have closed on the buyout transaction. After that we are interested in increasing our asset base, be it through acquisitions, sub-advisor arrangements or a distribution partnership," he said.

Kuberski said that preference would be for acquisitions, because it would all RidgeWorth to better control the cost structures, but the firm also "provides a menu of services that help asset management boutiques focus on managing money," including sales and marketing, legal and compliance work as well as distribution.

That's not the only RidgeWorth has been planning to grow. The firm plans to hire at least a dozen new sales honchos. 

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