Sammons Financial Group announced Criterion as the new name for its wealth advisory holding company, which includes Beacon Capital Management, NorthRock Partners and Wealthcare. The firms collectively have more than $27 billion in assets under management (AUM) or advisement, according to Criterion.
The three firms will retain their brands and operational independence, according to Criterion. The company said it plans further acquisitions and investments in its firms’ technology, personnel and capabilities.
“The acquisition last year of Wealthcare was the final piece of building out our initial wealth management platform,” Michael Mock, President of Criterion, told Wealth Solutions Report by email. “Effective in January, the wealth management business was stood up as a new, separate business within the broader Sammons Enterprise system.”
Mock added, “We spent some time selecting a brand for Criterion which allows us to emphasize that our wealth management business is separate and distinct from the core Sammons insurance business.”
Explaining Criterion’s M&A strategy, he told WSR the firm is “looking to drive growth through both advisor recruiting and acquisitions of advisory practices.”
“Over the past 18 months, Criterion has closed on 14 full acquisitions (deals across all three Criterion brands) with an aggregate $7.7 billion in AUM (excluding the Wealthcare platform acquisition), with a strong pipeline of additional prospects expected to transact over the next several months,” he pointed out.
“Going forward,” he said, “Criterion will continue actively pursuing additional acquisitions which meet our cultural, strategic, and financial profile.”
“The businesses that comprise Criterion represent a new approach in a constantly changing financial services marketplace,” Mock said in a press release. “Over the past five years, these businesses have been assembled specifically to design and build a broad differentiated wealth management platform.”
Mock added, “Introducing our new name is an important milestone. What matters most is what the Criterion name enables us to build. Criterion reflects our confidence in the future of this business and the opportunity we see to thoughtfully grow a wealth management organization designed for the long term.”
Each of the three advisory firms joined Sammons Financial Group through acquisition: Beacon first in 2021, then NorthRock Partners in 2023 and Wealthcare in 2025.
Jeff Berman, Contributing Editor and Reporter at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at jeff.berman@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
