This year’s CMO 5, our list of top marketing leaders, leans more toward solutions providers and firms in the M&A space than any of the prior years, and this tilt is intentional.
In the current higher interest rate environment — which restrains access to capital — solutions and M&A guidance separate the true experts from firms that are merely trying their hand at M&A. Marketers at these firms have their hand on the pulse of wealth management M&A.
To get to the heart of that dynamic, WSR reached out to Joe Kuo, CEO & Founder of Haven Tower Group, a strategic communications agency focused on the wealth management space; Kelly Coulter, Head of Marketing at Private Advisor Group; and John Wernz, Partner and Strategic Advisor at Mission Wealth and Executive-in-Residence at Great Hill Partners.
Marketing For M&A Success
“Consolidation and communications go hand in hand,” Kuo says. “Intensifying M&A across the wealth management industry has, not surprisingly, driven a much sharper focus on the value and relevance of brand elevation.”
First, according to Kuo, once a company has decided to pursue a transaction — either as an acquirer or seller — the company should clearly articulate what makes them unique in the industry, how they drive value for financial advisors and other key audiences, and how the deal they are envisioning will enhance their value proposition going forward.
Second, Kuo suggests, outside of any specific transaction, firms seeking deal flow should develop a thoughtful and proactive brand elevation strategy that enables them to stand out in a competitive dealmaking landscape.
Effective strategies, according to Kuo, should include elevating senior executives as post-deal integration experts, building a cohesive narrative around what kind of transactions an enterprise is seeking and how they add up to a compelling story for key audiences as all being crucial elements of a successful M&A communications program.
“For acquirers, there is no substitute for being immediately familiar to potential transaction partners without having met previously,” Kuo says. “When an acquiring firm’s brand presence and industry value proposition are already widely known, discussions with prospective deal targets can leapfrog time consuming basic introductory conversations and move expeditiously to dealmaking details.”
2025 M&A Deal Flow
As deal flow so far in 2025 demonstrates, the announcements have been steady and at times surprising.
For example, in January, Merchant Investment Management took a majority stake in Summit Financial, a New Jersey-based RIA investor and platform services business that at the time had approximately $20 billion in assets.
The same month, Corient Private Wealth, a division of CI Financial, acquired Geller & Co.’s $10.4 billion New York City-based multi-family office business.
In March, LPL Financial announced that it agreed to acquire rival Commonwealth Financial Network for about $2.7 billion. At the time of the announcement, Commonwealth served about 2,900 financial advisors and had about $285 billion of combined advisory and brokerage assets.
At the time, LPL supported nearly 29,000 financial advisors and the wealth management practices of about 1,200 financial institutions, providing service and custody for about $1.7 trillion in combined advisory and brokerage assets.
A few smaller, yet still billion-dollar deals, show how marketing is not only for mega platforms. In May, VisionPoint Advisory Group, which broke away from LPL in 2021, and Navitas Wealth Advisors, merged to form Balefire, a Dallas-based RIA whose combined assets under management (AUM) surpassed $3.7 billion as of Jan. 1.
The same month, Los Angeles-based NWF Advisory Group, a hybrid RIA with $8 billion in assets under administration as of Dec. 31, rebranded as Artisan Capital Partners. The firm had approximately 100 independent advisors at the time of the announcement. Artisan offers securities through Osaic Wealth.
In turn, Osaic announced in June that it is acquiring Boston-based RIA CW Advisors (CWA), which manages $13.5 billion in fee-only client assets, from Audax Private Equity, CWA’s pre-existing private equity sponsor.
And in July, Atlanta-based Merit Financial Advisors, with nearly $20 billion in assets under advisement, announced a strategic minority investment from Constellation Wealth Capital. As part of the transaction, Wealth Partners Capital Group (WPCG) and a group of strategic investors led by HGGC’s Aspire Holdings will exit their ownership stake. Merit had already completed eight acquisitions in 2025.
Private Capital
As the above deals show, a significant force influencing the evolution of marketing, branding, positioning and communications in wealth management M&A is private capital.
“With more private equity, there is more optionality or competition,” Coulter says. “Firms need to know their numbers, be prepared to verify that data and market with a great deal of transparency.”
She emphasizes that marketers and brand stories should address how both parties benefit. Coulter also observes that, with communication, the cultural migration begins much sooner — in many cases before the deal closes. This can be a major success driver.
In Coulter’s view, authentic marketing that clearly defines the future state is essential for buyers and private capital in the drive to create organic growth post-acquisition. That’s in large part because both clients and employees will look for role clarity and want to understand impact and continuity.
She argues that a thoughtful communications strategy — before, during and after the transition — can make all the difference in aligning mindshare, integrating operations and positioning the team for what’s next. Based on her experience, defining the lead brand sooner rather than later is highly advantageous.
Wernz adds that private capital and buyers are all about return on investment over a multi-year period. As he sees it, with the growing recognition of the incredibly high lifetime value of a financial planning client, investment in tools is much easier to justify. Meanwhile, organic growth has become a key driver of valuation and is especially valued by private capital.
“The lifetime value of a financial planning client, with its high retention and contribution margin, is more valuable than ever,” Wernz says. “This is driving up valuations on all firms, but especially those with strong organic growth performance.”
Solutions Providers
Lead gen specialists, conference organizers, marcoms firms and other solutions providers have a crucial role to play in facilitating wealth management M&A, according to the experts.
Coulter notes that, at conferences, her firm keeps M&A as a constant theme in breakouts or panels. The topics range from firm readiness to nonconventional opportunities that the profession has navigated. She sees a trend of M&A as both an entry point and a solution for succession planning, on a longer timeline that is less about urgency and more about futureproofing.
Wernz argues that the case studies provided by solution providers are showing that strong performance-driven organic growth is possible. He finds that firms are making organic work, and these firms are often those with scale. So Wenz believes that firms have the choice of achieving scale on their own or partnering with a firm that has already made the leap.
From Kuo’s perspective, effective brand elevation to support an M&A visibility program requires activity across four key pillars, with an emphasis on thematic consistency across them.
These are earned media, or PR in the traditional sense; owned media, such as e-blast campaigns and website content; paid media, which can include digital advertising but also paid panelist or speaker opportunities at relevant industry events; and social media to systematically repurpose the work product from each of these other three pillars, as well as social media-native campaigns.
Avoiding Pitfalls
Since every strategy has its risks, Kuo also offers three key pitfalls to avoid when marketing for wealth management M&A deal flow.
First, a firm’s positioning and messaging must be based on reality, because when reality and positioning conflict, reality always wins, according to Kuo.
Second, beware of enormously expensive, enormously time consuming brand vanity projects without setting specific and realistic ROI expectations.
And third, sometimes wealth management enterprises can over-invest in M&A and other inorganic growth campaigns while neglecting core financial advisor engagement and retention communications.
“Partnering with a seasoned communications agency that can provide strategic thinking on the big picture as opposed to going straight into tactics and execution is vital for avoiding these mistakes,” Kuo says.
Chris Latham, Contributing Editor, Strategic Advisor at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at chris.latham@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
