For an advisor selling a firm, the sale price is only part of the financial outcome when the deal includes rollover equity. The value ultimately realized can depend on the buyer’s ability to grow the business and provide a good exit years later, so the seller must examine the buyer and the equity on offer from the position of a future shareholder. This week, I examine how sellers should approach this with industry experts.
Rollover Equity: Why RIA Sellers Need Their Own Due Diligence
In my quarterly M&A review, I present a framework for sellers considering rollover equity with Jim Abbott of Seward & Kissel, Josh Harris of Coldstream, Bryan Staff of Merchant, Nate Angelo of Composition Wealth and Bomy Hagopian of Berkshire Global Advisors.
We cover how to investigate a buyer’s finances and growth strategy, weigh cash against equity, evaluate shareholder rights and liquidity restrictions, and assess the path to an eventual payout.
Talent Stack: Trusted Advisor Search’s Dave Porter Discusses Leadership And Advisor Fit
Dave Porter of Trusted Advisor Search joins Laurie Stack on the Talent Stack podcast to discuss how advisors can evaluate a potential move and how leaders can build firms around advisors’ needs.
Porter describes preparing advisors through business coaching, marketing and technology audits, and an attorney’s contract review before making firm introductions. He also shares lessons on developing internal successors.
Wealth Set Go: Mission Wealth’s John Wernz Discusses The Systems Behind RIA Organic Growth
Converting digital leads into clients requires coordination between marketing and business development, says John Wernz of Mission Wealth. He joins Jim Roth of Ascentix Partners on the Wealth Set Go podcast to discuss building repeatable organic growth at RIAs.
Wernz describes how AI can automate prospect nurturing and scheduling and provide live sales coaching. He also explains how client acquisition metrics can guide growth budgets and give firms room to test new approaches.
Helping HNW Clients Adjust Charitable Giving To New Tax Rules
New charitable deduction rules for the 2026 tax year may reduce tax savings for high net worth clients. James Kaufman of OpenArc Corporate Advisory, Haley Schaffer of Waypoint West and Kristin Larson of NewSpring Wealth Partners discuss how advisors can adjust gift timing and asset selection while keeping clients’ charitable goals central.
Clients who itemize can deduct only the portion of their charitable gifts above 0.5% of adjusted gross income. Coordinating contributions across multiple years can help families adapt to that threshold.
What If Your Marketing Problem Isn’t A Marketing Problem?
An unclear value proposition can undermine advisor marketing, writes Erin Taylor of Sowell Management. She argues that firms should identify why their best clients choose them before investing in another campaign.
Taylor offers a simple test: If a competitor could copy your value proposition without changing a word, it may not explain what sets you apart. Her four questions help firms assess whether clients, prospects and employees understand their distinctive value.
Regtech Surge: Claude For Financial Advisors And Governance
Firms adopting Claude for Financial Advisors need to demonstrate who reviewed AI’s work and whether that review was meaningful, argues Sid Yenamandra of SurgeONE.ai in his latest Regtech Surge column.
A record that someone clicked “approve” may not establish adequate oversight. Yenamandra explains how review standards and documentation can help firms reconstruct important decisions and show where professional judgment shaped the outcome.
Monthly RIA M&A Trends For October
October’s RIA withdrawal filings reflected 30 transactions involving about $29.6 billion in reported assets under management, writes Hesom Parhizkar of AdvizorPro.
Four firms that joined Corient accounted for more than half of those assets.
Wealthtech Roundup
This month’s roundup covers news from Anthropic, Schwab, Advyzon, Nevis, Docupace, Orion, Modera, SEI, Envestnet, Canoe Intelligence, Mercer Advisors, Arch, Savvy Wealth and Zeplyn.
Tax technology is in the spotlight this month with Schwab’s addition of Wealth.com’s Ester tax and estate planning tool, J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s 55ip connector for comparing portfolio transitions at different realized capital gain levels, and Envestnet and Canoe Intelligence’s automated delivery of alternative investment tax documents.
Deals & Recruiting Roundup
This week’s roundup includes M&A involving Accelerated Wealth Partners, Pallas, Creative Planning, Carson and Mercer Advisors; Cleros’ launch; recruiting by Raymond James, Concurrent, Osaic and NewEdge; appointments by Mesirow and AssetMark; and research by DeVoe & Company.
Only 10% of RIA firms surveyed by DeVoe in its latest research offered robust training for junior advisors, and just 28% considered their next generation ready to lead.
Exclusive Interview: Cambridge CEO Amy Webber: “We Aren’t Selling To LPL, Or Any Other Firm”
Cambridge Investment Research is not for sale to LPL or any other firm, Amy Webber says in an exclusive WSR interview. She explains how Cambridge plans to remain privately owned and internally controlled.
Webber points to the firm’s ownership and succession arrangements, equity offerings to advisors and associates, and reinvestment in technology and leadership as support for that commitment.
Ex‑UBS Advisor Team With $3.6 Billion In Assets Starts RIA In Texas
An ex-UBS team led by Kyle Kight, Alex Armstrong and Jamie Packer launched Cleros Wealth Partners in Fort Worth, Texas, with a minority investment from Elevation Point.
The team oversaw about $3.61 billion in assets under supervision at UBS.
Carson Buys Georgia RIA With $1.6 Billion In Assets
Carson Group acquired Marietta Wealth Management, a Georgia RIA overseeing about $1.6 billion in assets under advisement. The transaction closed Oct. 26, and Marietta joined Carson’s integrated channel as a Carson Wealth office.
Carson has announced 22 acquisitions this year, following 23 in 2025.
AssetMark Research Finds Gaps In Private Wealth Services
AssetMark’s new research finds gaps between the services advisors say clients expect and those they make primary offerings. Alongside the report, the firm introduced a private wealth program combining planning, investment support and specialized capabilities.
Among surveyed advisors, 52% worried about losing clients to competitors offering broader services. The research also found that 55% were highly concerned about assets leaving their firms when wealth transfers.
Mercer Advisors Buys AI And Tax Specialist Fifteenth
Mercer Advisors acquired Fifteenth, a tax and accounting specialist with an AI platform designed for complex tax work. The acquisition adds equity compensation expertise and technology to Mercer’s existing tax planning and preparation services.
More than half of Mercer’s incoming ultra-high net worth clients seek tax services, according to the firm.
WealthFeed Adds 401(k) Plan Prospecting To Its Advisor Growth Platform
WealthFeed added Form 5500 data to its platform, allowing advisors to search more than 780,000 retirement plans and receive alerts about filing changes that may signal prospecting opportunities.
The plan data connects with WealthFeed’s existing Warm Introduction and Marketing Hub tools, helping advisors identify network connections to plan decision makers and follow up with outreach from the same platform.
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Larry Roth
CEO
Wealth Solutions Report
