In wealth management M&A, it is easy to focus on the headline measures and themes: assets under management (AUM) represent value and AI creates value. But the story is more complex. This week, in my latest quarterly M&A review, three industry leaders join me to examine what buyers should look for beyond AUM. Also this week, Ryan Halls and Stephen Caruso explain three important factors founders should consider beyond AI.
We’re also excited to publish our latest podcasts, with new episodes of Wealth Set Go and Talent Stack this week.
Beyond AUM: What Buyers Should Really Look For In An RIA
In my latest quarterly M&A review, I examine the true drivers of RIA enterprise value with Conor Meehan of Choreo, David Reynolds of Berkshire Global Advisors and Marty Bicknell of Mariner. Our discussion looks beyond AUM to the underlying qualities that can make a wealth management firm more durable and valuable to a buyer.
Organic growth, transferable client relationships, leadership and succession, compensation structures and scalability can all reveal more about a firm’s long-term prospects than asset size alone.
AI Is The Headline. But RIA Founders Should Be Watching These 3 Things
Ryan Halls of Hue Partners and Stephen Caruso of Cerulli discuss how RIA founders should look beyond AI to organic growth, talent development and tech-enabled scale as they prepare for future M&A transactions.
This article accompanies a video interview between Halls and Caruso in the Hue Partners: M&A Confidential video series.
Talent Stack: Wealth Enhancement’s Carroll Discusses The Infrastructure Behind Sustainable RIA Growth
Aisling Carroll of Wealth Enhancement joins Laurie Stack on this podcast to discuss what sustainable RIA growth requires, from referral partnerships and dedicated sales capabilities to culture and M&A integration.
Carroll also discusses investing intentionally in growth, learning from failure and creating more opportunities for women and younger professionals in wealth management.
Wealth Set Go: Dynasty’s Harris Baltch Explains Capital Choices For RIA Growth And Succession
Dynasty’s Harris Baltch joins WSR Editor in Chief Julius Buchanan in this podcast to discuss the expanding range of capital options available to RIA owners as firms grow and plan for succession.
Their conversation covers internal succession, debt, minority recapitalizations, full sales and governance considerations, as well as how owners can weigh control, alignment and long-term objectives when choosing among different capital structures.
Private Credit’s Greatest Risk Could Be Missing Out
Austin Haymes and Zoe Fujiwara of WTW examine how advisors should approach private credit as concerns about defaults, liquidity and other risks put parts of the asset class under greater scrutiny. They say the answer is to become more selective about where and how clients invest.
They emphasize manager selection, underwriting discipline, diversification beyond traditional direct lending and realistic expectations around liquidity.
Three Studies Examine Technology, Time And Advisor Productivity
Studies from AssetMark, Vanguard and The Oasis Group examined how technology and better-designed workflows can create more capacity for financial advisors.
AssetMark found that more than half of advisors using AI reported saving at least four hours a week, while Vanguard found advisors wanted more time for prospecting and deepening client relationships. A white paper from The Oasis Group examined another source of lost capacity: the administrative work surrounding client meetings.
Deals & Recruiting Roundup
This week’s roundup includes acquisitions by Creative Planning, Apella, Carson and Maridea; recruiting by NewEdge, Raymond James, Wedbush and LPL; and appointments by Choreo, Sanctuary, Lincoln Investment and F.L.Putnam.
Creative Planning plans to buy RVK, an institutional investment consulting firm that advises retirement plans, endowments and foundations, with approximately $4.3 trillion in assets.
Anthropic Launches Claude For Financial Advisors
Anthropic launched Claude For Financial Advisors, connecting Claude with advisor technology and adding workflow tools for research, meeting prep and documentation. The rollout includes integrations with Schwab, Addepar, BlackRock, Envestnet, Orion and Vanguard.
Separately, Dynasty announced a broader AI system that uses Anthropic’s Claude models inside Dynasty Desktop.
Apex Teams With FusionIQ To Enhance Digital Investment Capabilities
Apex Fintech Solutions and FusionIQ announced a collaboration that lets mutual clients pair Apex’s brokerage, custody and clearing infrastructure with FusionIQ’s digital advice, self-directed investing, model marketplace and TAMP capabilities.
The firms say the arrangement grew out of a mutual client need and is intended to reduce integration friction for banks, broker-dealers, credit unions and RIAs building or expanding digital wealth offerings.
Apella Adds Over $900 Million In Client Assets With Two Acquisitions
Apella Wealth acquired Longview Financial Advisors and Morris Financial Concepts, adding about $928 million in client assets. Longview brought roughly $384 million in AUM and Morris about $544 million.
Longview marked Apella’s 29th acquisition overall and its 18th since Wealth Partners Capital Group invested in the firm in September 2021.
Sanctuary Wealth Expands Leadership Team With Three Hires
Sanctuary Wealth expanded its leadership team. Harry Drozdowski joined as Managing Director of Advanced Estate & Wealth Planning, Reilly Cornell as Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions and Kelly LaPalio as Vice President of Advisor Growth Marketing.
The appointments come as Sanctuary continues expanding resources for partner firms across complex planning, organic growth, acquisitions and succession.
Prudential Advisors’ Brandon Wellman Named U.S. Country Chair Of MDRT Committee
Brandon Wellman of Prudential Advisors has been named U.S. Country Chair of the Million Dollar Round Table Membership Communications Committee for 2027. In the role, he will lead U.S. member volunteers supporting networking, outreach and educational programming.
Wellman has been an MDRT member for eight years, with six Court of the Table and two Top of the Table qualifications.
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Larry Roth
CEO
Wealth Solutions Report
