Osaic said Tuesday 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 current private equity sponsor.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter this year, Boston-based Audax said.
Osaic’s assets under administration (AUA) were $698 billion on May 31, Jamie Price, President and CEO of Osaic, told WSR. He said that Osaic will have $712 billion in AUA following this transaction.
CWA serves high net worth (HNW) and ultra-high net worth (UHNW) clients via its wealth management and family office platform that includes 140 professionals across 17 offices, according to a news release.
The acquisition “represents continued execution of Osaic’s strategy to expand its addressable market, serve advisors across all affiliation models and enable advisors to serve clients across the full wealth spectrum,” the release stated.
The acquisition will provide increased access to capital to support CWA’s future growth initiatives, as well as providing support for HNW and UHNW clients through Osaic’s partner companies, Premier Trust and Highland Capital Brokerage.
CWA will retain its name and client service model, and continue to be operationally independent, Osaic added.
“CW Advisors brings tremendous strength in delivering an institutional-quality platform for fee-only RIA advisors at the upper tiers of the wealth spectrum,” Price said in the news release.
“Their scale, talent and infrastructure are highly complementary to our strategy of expanding Osaic’s presence across all models and segments of the wealth management industry.”
Price added, “We also welcome CW’s management team, current private equity sponsor and select advisors to become Osaic shareholders, alongside our current advisor shareholders.”
“Joining forces with Osaic represents a pivotal step forward for CW Advisors,” said Scott Dell’Orfano, CEO of CW Advisors. “This partnership provides us with access to permanent capital that aligns with our long-term vision and the needs of our clients and advisors. We’re grateful for the support we’ve received from our previous owner and are energized by the opportunity to grow our business with ongoing flexibility and strategic control.”
Since July 2023, CWA completed 10 acquisitions that helped to expand its geographic footprint and suite of services, it and Audax said in a separate news release.
For example, CWA said last year that it acquired Agili, a fee-only firm with $1.2 billion of AUM.
“When we first invested in CW Advisors, we were drawn to the strength of the firm’s management team, its track record of AUM and revenue growth, and the opportunity to leverage our Buy & Build model to help the team capitalize on the opportunity set in front of the business,” according to Bill Allen, a Managing Director at Audax and Head of the firm’s Financial Services specialization.
“The pace and volume of growth have exceeded even our own expectations, which traces back to the sense of partnership between Audax and the entire CWA team,” added Jay Petricone, a Managing Director at Audax and member of its Financial Services vertical.
This marks the first acquisition Osaic has announced in 2025, but the firm announced several additions to its network this year, Price pointed out.
Earlier this year, Osaic added Payant Wealth Management Group and said it “remains open to conversations with advisors seeking capital support for growth, succession planning solutions or a transition to a more supported independent environment.”
Osaic also said in March that it added Cornerstone Advisors, an advisor team overseeing almost $360 million in total client assets, from Cetera.
“While we’ve seen a significant number of opportunities during my time here, and our M&A reputation and expertise has earned us a seat at the table for every major deal within the industry, we’ve only chosen to engage with a select few,” Price told WSR.
He explained, “When we do engage, we typically secure opportunities because of a good cultural fit, added capabilities and price. We’ll continue to be opportunistic, but we approach M&A very selectively and only when it makes strategic sense for both sides.”
Osaic now supports about 11,000 financial professionals in all, it said.
Osaic is a portfolio company of private investment firm Reverence Capital Partners, which says it manages more than $13 billion in AUM.
Jeff Berman, Contributing Editor and Reporter at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at jeff.berman@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
