An old saying predicts that March will come in like a lion and go out like a lamb – but not in wealth management. The second quarter is off to a roaring start: LPL is buying Commonwealth, Robinhood is competing with advisors and, for many of us, the phone is ringing off the hook with tariff questions. We cover the LPL deal and bring you expert views on both Robinhood’s latest moves and how you can speak with clients about tariffs.
In addition, we bring you our latest Deals & Recruiting Roundup, how to meet the rising demands of HNW clients, how CPA partnership can help in serving UHNW clients, Wealth Enhancement’s XO acquisition, Mercer’s latest acquisitions, solving retirement issues with insurance vehicles, Advisor Growth’s annual M&A report, and State Street’s investment in and partnership with Ethic.
Deals & Recruiting Roundup: This edition of the Deals & Recruiting Roundup covers Wealth Enhancement’s acquisition of XO Wealth Management, Mercer’s two purchases, DeVoe’s report of record breaking deal activity in Q1, LPL’s acquisition of Commonwealth, Cerity’s purchase of West Coast Financial, Advisor Growth Strategies’ M&A report, Kestra’s recruitment of Amy Dunham, MAI onboarding advisors from Constellation Sports Council, Equitable’s recruitment of Shebna Olsen-Shillibeer, NewEdge nabbing an advisor team from Merrill Lynch, Wealth.com’s partnership with Cetera and Osaic’s appointment of Saumya Bhavsar as General Counsel.
HNW raising the bar: High net worth clients are now demanding the same level of service as ultra-high. We spoke with Bob Oros, CEO and Chairman of Hightower Advisors; Mark Biegel, Managing Director, Wealth Management of Choreo; and Andrew Marsh, Vice Chairman of Dynasty Financial Partners, about this trend and how advisors can respond.
CPAs for UHNWs: John C. Pastore, Jr., EVP of Integrated Partners, and Homer Smith, Executive Director of Konvergent, make the case that partnering with a CPA is the key to serving ultra-high net worth clients.
LPL buys Commonwealth: LPL Financial said it agreed to acquire Commonwealth Financial Network for about $2.7 billion. LPL’s CEO, Rich Steinmeier, commented, along with Joseph Deitch, Commonwealth’s Chairman and Founder, and Wayne Bloom, Commonwealth’s CEO.
Robinhood’s disruption: John O’Connell, Founder and CEO of The Oasis Group, explains the recent moves of Robinhood to redefine access to wealth management and the wake-up call it sends to traditional advisors.
Dallas acquisition: Wealth Enhancement is buying Dallas-based XO Wealth Management, with over $516 million in client assets. Jeff Dekko, CEO, and Jim Cahn, Chief Strategy Officer of Wealth Enhancement, provided comments.
Tariffs and your clients: Ron Madey, CIO of Wealthcare, provides his take on the current state of tariffs, and Matt Regan, the firm’s CEO and President, addresses how to communicate with clients about tariffs.
Kentucky and Tennessee buys: Mercer Global Advisors announced the acquisitions of RIAs D. Scott Neal, with offices in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, and Vishria Bird Financial Group in Memphis, Tennessee. The acquisitions will add a total of almost $900 million in assets to Mercer. Martine Lellis, Principal, M&A Partner Development, and Ben Kautz, Executive Managing Director at Mercer Advisors, provided comments.
Insurance vehicles for retirement: Advisors’ clients are increasingly looking to annuities and life settlements for retirement solutions. To learn about these vehicles and their uses, we caught up with Kevin Kennedy, Senior Vice President and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer of Consumer Markets at Pacific Life; Harrison Sidhu, First Vice President of Investment Products and Research at Cambridge Investment Research; and Jason Mendelsohn, Co-Founder and President of Ashar Group.
Crowded M&A field: Advisor Growth Strategies predicts a busy 2025 for RIA M&A in its annual report, “The RIA Deal Room: Navigating the High Tide.” The report points to a crowded field for both buyers and sellers, among other key findings. Partner Brandon Kawal and Managing Partner John Furey commented.
Asset management stake: State Street Global Advisors staked asset management platform Ethic and led its Series D funding round, and the firms entered into a strategic partnership. Yie-Hsin Hung, CEO of State Street Global Advisors, and Doug Scott, CEO and Co-Founder of Ethic, commented.
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Larry Roth
CEO
Wealth Solutions Report
