This month’s WSRIA roundup of top RIA news brings you: Carlyle agreed to buy a majority stake in MAI, Modern acquired Legacy, Mercer bought Charter Oak Capital Management, Savant struck deals with Exencial Wealth Advisors and Heller Wealth Management, Emigrant Partners invested in Keen Wealth Advisors and Mutual Group, Corient agreed to acquire Vivaldi, LPL and Private Advisor Group will acquire Mariner Advisor Network, DeVoe & Company reported a record-tying first quarter for RIA M&A, Sanctuary Wealth recruited Soteris Private Wealth, Prairie View Wealth Partners launched, Kintra launched by combining six firms and Hightower appointed Roberto Stewart as President and Chief Business Officer.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Carlyle Agrees To Buy Majority Stake In MAI
Funds managed by Carlyle have agreed to acquire a majority stake in MAI Capital Management, a Cleveland-based RIA, at a valuation of more than $2.8 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter, after which Carlyle will become the majority owner while Galway Holdings, Oak Hill Capital and funds managed by Harvest Partners exit their investments.
MAI said it will continue operating autonomously with the same leadership team and priorities, and employees will retain a minority equity stake. As of Jan. 1, MAI and affiliate Evoke Advisors had 40 offices, and MAI had $50.9 billion in assets under management (AUM) and $5.6 billion in assets under advisement. Ardea Partners advised MAI, Houlihan Lokey advised Carlyle, Kirkland & Ellis represented Harvest Partners and MAI, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett represented Carlyle.
Rick Buoncore, CEO and Chairman of MAI Capital Management, said, “As we looked for a long-term partner to help us achieve that vision, Carlyle stood out for its alignment with our culture and values along with their deep industry knowledge and expertise. Deepening our partnership with Carlyle will unlock the next chapter for MAI, enabling us to expand our resources while maintaining the firm’s commitment to being a preeminent destination for clients and the fiduciary-minded advisors who serve them.”
Modern Wealth Enters Florida With Legacy Deal
RIA Modern Wealth Management bought Legacy Wealth Management, a South Florida advisory firm with about $1.2 billion in client assets. The deal gave Modern its first Florida office and marked the firm’s 20th acquisition since its April 2023 launch.
Legacy’s eight-person team, including seven financial advisors, is led by Tony DuBose and Joel Palatnik, who join Modern as Managing Directors. Legacy also brought a retirement-plan business with about $300 million in retirement plan assets. Gladstone Associates served as Legacy’s exclusive financial advisor on the transaction.
DuBose said, “If you had asked me three years ago about merging or selling the firm, it would have been a hard no. From the start, they treated this not as a transaction, but as the next phase of growth for our firm, our clients, and our team. Their high level of execution, shared values and commitment to a long-term vision made them the perfect fit—especially as they expand their footprint here in Florida.”
Mercer Adds Charter Oak In New Hampshire
Mercer Advisors, a Denver-based RIA, said it acquired Charter Oak Capital Management, a Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based wealth management firm with more than $1.5 billion in AUM. The transaction expands Mercer’s presence along the New Hampshire seacoast while adding to its footprint in New England.
Charter Oak also has an office in Kennebunk, Maine, and serves clients in Massachusetts. The firm was founded in 2002, has 19 team members, and is led by Jeffrey Troiano, Sarah Serling, Emma Bean, Todd Cesca, Lena Wyand and Karen Zaramba, with the partner group and key advisors joining Mercer as Senior Wealth Advisors as the Charter Oak brand transitions to Mercer. Hue Partners was the exclusive financial advisor to Charter Oak.
Dave Welling, CEO of Mercer Advisors, said, “Charter Oak exemplifies the type of high-quality, fiduciary firm that strengthens our ability to serve clients and be deeply connected to their communities in meaningful ways. Their established presence along the New Hampshire seacoast expands our reach in an important New England market and adds a talented, next-generation team committed to comprehensive planning.”
Savant Adds $6 Billion Exencial In Oklahoma City And Heller In New York
Savant Wealth Management, a fee-only RIA, announced two transactions: a partnership with Exencial Wealth Advisors, a national RIA with $6 billion in assets, and a separate partnership with Heller Wealth Management, a Melville, New York-based RIA with about $550 million in assets. Savant said Exencial is its largest deal to date.
Exencial is based in Oklahoma City, has about 115 employees and 15 offices, and expands Savant into Texas, Oklahoma, Connecticut, North Carolina and Ohio. Heller was founded in 1992 and has six employees. Advisor Growth Strategies assisted on the Exencial deal and advised Heller.
Brent Brodeski, Founder and CEO of Savant, said, “These partnerships reflect our continued focus on aligning with firms that share our fiduciary mindset, culture, and long-term vision. Exencial represents a milestone partnership for Savant, while Heller Wealth Management adds depth in an important market. Together, these firms strengthen our ability to deliver integrated wealth, tax, and planning services to clients nationwide.”
Emigrant Partners Invests In Keen Wealth Advisors And Mutual Group
Emigrant Partners announced a minority investment in Keen Wealth Advisors, an Overland Park, Kansas-based independent RIA with $1.3 billion in assets. Keen was founded in 2014 by CEO Bill Keen and provides retirement, tax, estate planning, investment management and risk management services.
The firm also announced it had made a strategic investment in Mutual Group, a national platform serving independent financial advisors and RIAs. Mutual supports more than 270 advisor teams and independent RIAs overseeing more than $15 billion in assets. InCap Group served as Mutual’s exclusive investment banker and Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young was legal counsel.
Keen said, “The people we serve today are the reason we’re here, and nothing about this partnership changes that. Our team, our process, and our commitment to the families we work with are all staying exactly the same.”
Corient Will Acquire $5.6 Billion Vivaldi Capital Management
Corient announced the acquisition of Vivaldi Capital Management, a Chicago-based RIA with $5.6 billion in AUM. Founded by David Sternberg and Randal Golden, Vivaldi serves high and ultra-high net worth individuals and families, combining wealth planning and traditional investment management with alternative investments.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter, and Vivaldi’s principals are expected to become Corient partners at closing. Corient managed about $227 billion as of Jan. 31.
Sternberg said, “Joining Corient enables us to continue delivering highly personalized service, enhanced by an expanded suite of Corient’s wealth management and family office capabilities. We’re also excited about the collaborative nature of the Corient Partnership and the opportunity to work alongside other advisors and firm experts for the benefit of our clients.”
LPL To Buy Mariner Advisor Network
LPL Financial said it agreed to acquire Mariner Advisor Network, while Private Advisor Group, in partnership with LPL, will acquire the network’s hybrid advisors and place them under its hybrid RIA business. Mariner Advisor Network supports 367 financial advisors overseeing $31 billion in client assets, according to the firms. Of those advisors, 223 will remain with LPL, while 144 hybrid advisors will move to Private Advisor Group’s model.
The firms said client service will continue without interruption during the transition. Private Advisor Group, based in Morristown, New Jersey, had more than $41.3 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of June 30, according to the firm. LPL supports more than 32,000 advisors and the wealth management practices of about 1,200 financial institutions.
Marc Cohen, Group Managing Director and Chief Growth Officer at LPL Financial, said: “We recognized an opportunity to deepen our relationship with the advisors affiliated with the Mariner Advisor Network by welcoming them into our growing supported independence community, one built on collaboration and a commitment to advisor success.”
DeVoe Says Q1 Tied Record For RIA M&A Activity
DeVoe & Company said 93 RIA M&A transactions were announced in the first quarter of 2026, up 24% from 75 in the year-earlier quarter and tying Q3 2025 as the most active quarter on record. The firm said the results marked the strongest start to a year in RIA M&A history, with larger RIAs driving activity and smaller sellers accounting for a declining share of the market.
The report said mid-sized, large and mega firms drove deal activity, while small sellers fell to about 32% of the market. Minority transactions made up 15% of activity, up from 14% for 2025, and an increasing share of those investments targeted RIAs with less than $2 billion in AUM.
David DeVoe, Founder and CEO of DeVoe & Company, said: “Firms in the $100M–$500M range once made up about half the market in 2023. Today, they account for less than a third. The driver isn’t fewer small deals—it’s that most of the growth is coming from larger sellers, as consolidators increasingly target scale.”
Advisor Transactions
Sanctuary Wealth Recruits Former Merrill Team As Soteris Private Wealth
Hybrid RIA Sanctuary Wealth recruited a team led by Josh Erickson and Rob Montierth from Merrill Lynch, where they managed $800 million in client assets. The team joined Sanctuary in Walnut Creek, California, as Soteris Private Wealth through Sanctuary’s partnered independence model, marking another wirehouse breakaway for the firm this month.
Erickson joined Merrill in 2012 and Montierth started there in 2010. Soteris Private Wealth serves high net worth clients including business owners, executives and families managing wealth across generations.
Erickson said: “In recent years, it became clear that being beholden to a single financial institution no longer aligned with our values or allowed us to deliver the full range of services our clients deserve. Once we concluded that independence was the right path for our business and the future of our practice, it quickly became clear that Sanctuary was the right partner to help us make that move.”
Prairie View Wealth Partners Launches In South Dakota
Prairie View Wealth Partners, a newly independent RIA, announced its launch in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The firm was co-founded by Adam Cox, Kyle Cipperley and Paula Bindert, and will serve individuals and families at pivotal stages of personal and professional growth, with a focus on integrating wealth management, investment strategy, family office advising and tax planning.
The Founders most recently held senior roles at The First National Bank in Sioux Falls, according to the announcement. Prairie View is a fee-only advisory firm using Raymond James & Associates as custodian, and said it plans to emphasize tax-aware planning and client education.
Cox said: “Launching Prairie View Wealth Partners is a deeply personal decision for our team. In many ways, this is about building our dream home for our careers, a place where we can design every detail around how we believe clients should be served. We wanted the freedom to create an experience that is thoughtful, relationship-driven and centered on helping people make confident financial decisions.”
Kintra Launches By Combining Six Firms
RIA Kintra launched through an agreement among six wealth management firms to merge. The new firm said the founding businesses collectively represent more than $4 billion in AUM and 74 employees across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Ohio, Kentucky, Florida and Texas.
Kintra’s founding firms are Evergreen Wealth Solutions, Warren Wealth Associates, Loring Advisory Group, Tupler Financial, Rembrandt Financial Group and McCarthy & Cox. The firm said it intends to combine local client relationships with a national platform and serve individuals, families, businesses and institutions through a more collaborative operating model.
Harris said: “At Kintra, each of our firms has built something strong independently, but by coming together, we’re able to elevate the client experience, expand our capabilities, and invest more deeply in a modern, technology-enabled platform. Most importantly, this allows our advisors to collaborate more intentionally, so clients benefit from a broader perspective, deeper planning, and more thoughtful guidance.”
Promotions & People Moves
Hightower Appoints Roberto Stewart As President And Chief Business Officer
Hightower appointed Roberto Stewart as President and Chief Business Officer. The firm said Stewart will lead enterprise services and help advance Hightower One, its back- and middle-office platform. His responsibilities include operations, technology, risk, product, project management and integrations.
Stewart joined from Engle Martin, where he served as Chief Operating Officer, and previously held senior leadership roles at AIG, McKinsey & Company and Allstate. Gurinder Ahluwalia, who had been Interim President, will remain an adviser to the company and continue on its board.
Stewart said: “I am thrilled to join Hightower and build on the strength of its foundation. My focus will be on creating greater clarity, efficiency, and alignment across Hightower One, enabling advisors to spend more time with clients and grow their practices.”
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