This month’s WSRIA roundup of top RIA news brings you: Vistria agreed to invest in Curi Capital; Sequoia acquired BSW Wealth Partners; Allworth acquired High Falls and Holistic Financial; F.L.Putnam acquired the Red Granite team; Creative Planning agreed to acquire RVK; Apella acquired Morris and Longview; CAPTRUST added Compass and Long Island Wealth; Corient acquired FortCay; Cresset added a Boca Raton team; NewEdge added a Fort Lauderdale team; Hightower named a new President and other Signature Wealth leaders; and Merit announced its next CEO and President.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Vistria Agrees To Invest In Curi Capital
RIA Curi Capital announced a strategic investment from The Vistria Group under a deal that was expected to close in late September. Vistria was expected to become an ownership partner alongside Curi Capital’s employee owners and existing shareholders Curi and Wealth Partners Capital Group. Curi Capital had over $14 billion in estimated assets under advisement as of June 30, according to a press release.
Curi Capital said the investment would support technology, talent, client-experience and M&A initiatives. The firm said it planned to pursue additional acquisitions of RIAs in existing and new markets, while clients would continue working with the same advisory teams under Curi Capital’s name and service model. William Blair was the financial advisor to Vistria. Winston Taylor served as its legal counsel. Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton represented Curi and Curi Capital.
Mike Castleforte, Senior Partner and Co-Head of Financial Services at The Vistria Group, said, “Curi Capital has built an exceptional business rooted in trusted client relationships and a clear vision for the future. We believe the firm is well positioned for continued growth, and we’re excited to partner with Curi Capital, the Curi team, and Wealth Partners Capital Group to build upon their strong momentum. Curi Capital represents the type of high-quality wealth management firm we are proud to support.”
Sequoia Acquires BSW With $2.3 Billion In Client Assets
Sequoia Financial Group acquired BSW Wealth Partners, a Colorado RIA that managed about $2.3 billion in client assets as of June 30. The transaction closed Aug. 31. Sequoia said the process of dropping the BSW name and adopting the Sequoia Financial brand would begin in September.
Nineteen of BSW’s 25 team members joined Sequoia as employees. At the time of the announcement, six were serving as independent contractors during the transition. BSW CEO David Wolf joined Sequoia and was expected to remain active in client service and help guide the firms’ integration. Warner Norcross + Judd served as BSW’s legal advisor, and Hue Partners provided BSW with consulting and strategic guidance.
“The incredible alignment of BSW’s ethos to Make Life Better and Sequoia’s vision of Enriching Lives also extended across our firms’ cultures, clients, and capabilities,” Wolf said. “United, we can better serve families for generations, create exciting career opportunities for our team, and broaden our impact in Boulder, Denver, and throughout the Mountain West.”
Allworth Acquires Firms With Nearly $950 Million In AUM
Allworth Financial acquired High Falls Advisors, a Rochester, New York, wealth management and tax advisory firm with $665 million in assets under management (AUM), and Holistic Financial Partners, an Indianapolis RIA with approximately $282 million in AUM. The transactions brought Allworth above $40 billion in AUM.
The acquisitions added 23 professionals, including 13 wealth and tax advisors. High Falls brought a 21-person team, a CPA-led in-house tax practice and two private funds. Holistic Financial Partners specializes in financial planning for people navigating divorce, and its leader, Jason Llewellyn, joined Allworth as a Partner Advisor.
“These two firms represent exactly what we look for in a partnership: proven leadership teams, distinctive capabilities, and a shared belief that clients deserve more than a single-discipline approach to financial advice,” John Bunch, CEO of Allworth Financial, said. “Ken and Jen have built a standout advisory practice in Rochester with the kind of integrated tax and planning model that directly strengthens our platform. And Jason brings something we think is genuinely underserved in this industry: a dedicated, expert-led approach to helping people navigate the financial side of divorce.”
F.L.Putnam Acquires Red Granite Team With More Than $1 Billion In Assets
F.L.Putnam Investment Management Company, an independent RIA, acquired the Red Granite team from an affiliate of 1251 Capital Group. The Milwaukee team oversaw more than $1 billion in assets for private clients as of Aug. 31 and was expected to continue working from its downtown office.
Co-Chief Investment Officers Joel Vrabel and David Drzadinski lead the six-person team and have jointly managed a large-cap growth equity strategy since 1996. The acquisition established F.L.Putnam’s first Wisconsin office and second Midwest location while adding the team’s large-cap growth strategy to its proprietary equity investment platform.
“At FLP, we have built a firm where talented advisory and investment teams can expand their capabilities, access the resources of a larger organization, and continue to deliver highly personalized advice to their clients,” Tom Manning, CEO of F.L.Putnam, said. “The addition of Joel, David, and their team establishes our first presence in Wisconsin and our second location in the Midwest, while adding a differentiated large-cap equity strategy to our investment platform.”
Creative Planning To Acquire RVK Advising On $4.3 Trillion
Creative Planning agreed to acquire RVK, an institutional investment consulting firm that advises just over 200 institutional clients with approximately $4.3 trillion in assets. RVK serves public and private retirement plans, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, health systems and other institutional asset owners. The transaction is expected to close in January 2027.
RVK has provided non-discretionary investment consulting for more than 40 years, including investment policy development, asset allocation, manager research and selection, performance measurement, operational diligence and governance consulting. Its current management team is expected to continue leading the firm after closing. Goldman Sachs is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Creative Planning.
“Creative Planning shares our belief that clients are best served through independent, objective advice, deep expertise and solutions customized to meet their specific needs,” Josh Kevan, CEO, Senior Consultant and Principal at RVK, said. “Becoming a Creative Planning affiliate will allow us to preserve the client-focused approach and consulting model that have defined RVK while providing our clients and employees with access to broader resources, technology and capabilities. We’re excited about what our firms can accomplish together.”
Apella Adds Two RIAs With $928 Million In AUM
Apella Wealth acquired Morris Financial Concepts, a Mount Pleasant, South Carolina-based RIA with approximately $544 million in AUM, and Longview Financial Advisors, a San Rafael, California-based advisory firm with approximately $384 million in AUM. The two transactions added approximately $928 million in combined AUM.
Founder Kyra Hollowell Morris, Chief Compliance Officer James “Tucker” Morris and the Morris team joined Apella when that transaction closed Sept. 11. Longview Founder Tim Harrington and his team joined when their transaction closed Sept. 15. Jessica Polito of Turkey Hill Management represented Longview in its transaction.
“We spent more than a year thoughtfully searching for a firm that shared our fiduciary, planning-first approach and would allow us to continue serving clients the way we have for more than four decades,” Morris said. “With Apella, we gain the benefit of greater resources and support while maintaining our voice and the ability to contribute to the firm’s continued evolution. We believe this partnership brings together the strengths of both firms to create something even greater for our clients and our team.”
CAPTRUST Adds Two New York Firms With $1.2 Billion In Assets
RIA CAPTRUST added Melville, New York-based Compass Advisors and Long Island Wealth Management, two firms that had collaborated since 2018. The seven professionals joining CAPTRUST represented a combined $1.2 billion in assets. Compass, founded in 2013 by Managing Partners Michael Cuneo and Lauren King, serves institutional and wealth management clients, while Long Island Wealth Management was founded in 2006 by Jeff Myers.
The announcement said both firms would adopt the CAPTRUST brand and join its New York presence, which already included a Lake Success office with 25 employees, including 14 financial advisors. The additions expanded CAPTRUST’s Long Island operations while preserving the teams’ existing client relationships. Hue Partners served as the advisor to Compass Advisors and Long Island Wealth Management in the transaction.
“We have built an incredible firm and culture over the past decade at Compass,” Cuneo said. “As the needs of our clients grow and become more complex, we decided to align with CAPTRUST who shares our commitment to fiduciary advice and has developed the expansive tools and resources needed to provide exceptional guidance in an ever-changing world.”
Corient Acquires FortCay With $2.6 Billion In Client Assets
Corient acquired FortCay Family Advisory, a Cayman Islands wealth manager and multi-family office serving 14 ultra-high net worth families representing approximately $2.6 billion in client assets as of July 31. FortCay, founded by Billy Harty and Matt Houghton, provides wealth management, estate planning and family office services. The transaction established a Corient presence in the Cayman Islands.
Harty, FortCay’s Founder and Managing Director, and Houghton joined Corient with their team. Corient had approximately $572 billion in client assets as of Aug. 31 and more than 300 partners and 2,700 employees globally, with the employee count measured as of June 30. The acquisition added FortCay’s cross-border family office capabilities to Corient’s existing wealth management platform.
“A meaningful share of the world’s most complex family wealth is structured and administered in the Cayman Islands,” Kurt MacAlpine, Founding Partner and CEO of Corient, said. “Many of our clients live, work, and invest across borders – establishing a presence in Cayman deepens our ability to serve them. The FortCay team has built an outstanding business, and we look forward to bringing their expertise to Corient clients around the world.”
Advisor Transactions
Cresset Adds Team That Managed Approximately $4 Billion At UBS
Cresset expanded to Boca Raton, Florida, by adding a 16-person advisory team led by Michael Bober and Ed Ventrice. The team previously managed approximately $4 billion in client assets at UBS Financial Services and also includes Michael MacDonald, William “Billy” Marino, Sarah Ponczek and Alex Santos. Bober and Ventrice each served as Managing Directors at UBS.
The team advises corporate executives, business owners, high net worth individuals, multigenerational families, foundations, endowments and professional athletes. It specializes in wealth management, institutional consulting and business succession planning. Cresset’s family office services include investment management, private markets, tax planning and preparation, estate and trust services, property and casualty insurance advice and philanthropic planning.
Cresset CEO Susie Cranston said, “We are thrilled to expand our presence in South Florida to Boca Raton. Michael, Ed, and team have deep and longstanding relationships throughout the Boca Raton community, and we are honored to welcome them to Cresset and look forward to introducing more successful families to Cresset’s comprehensive family office offerings.”
NewEdge Wealth Adds Fort Lauderdale Team With $3 Billion In AUM
NewEdge Wealth, an RIA division of NewEdge Capital Group, added Wealth Managers Paul Yates, Alexandra Escobedo, Trace Shapiro and Michael Wohlgemuth, who manage $3 billion in AUM, according to information provided by a PR representative. The group established NewEdge Wealth’s fourth Florida location in Fort Lauderdale.
The team has experience serving ultra-high net worth individuals, families, business owners and professional athletes. Yates previously worked at Bank of America Private Bank. Escobedo previously held roles at Bank of America Private Bank, TradeStation and Franklin Templeton Investments, while Shapiro and Wohlgemuth also worked at Bank of America Private Bank.
Rob Sechan, Founder and Managing Partner of NewEdge Capital Group, said, “I’ve lived in Fort Lauderdale full time since 2023, and I’ve witnessed firsthand how Florida continues to experience strong economic growth. It’s driven by entrepreneurs and individuals who live or have moved to the area like me, and I am excited how this new office will strengthen our presence on the coast between Miami, Coral Gables and Boca Raton.”
Promotions & People Moves
Hightower Names New President, Signature Wealth Leaders
Hightower Advisors named Marco De Freitas President, with responsibility for operations, technology, the firm’s enterprise AI strategy and its investment platform. De Freitas, who reports to CEO Larry Restieri, is expected to officially join in the middle of the fourth quarter. He comes from Vanguard, where he held senior roles in client experience, digital transformation and technology, following earlier tenures at TD Ameritrade and McKinsey.
The RIA also appointed Jennifer Frazier President of Hightower Signature Wealth and Mike Hirsbrunner its Chief Operating Officer, while Penny Phillips will serve as Head of Advisor Growth. Frazier will lead strategy and expansion, Hirsbrunner will oversee operations and integration and Phillips will focus on organic growth and advisor and client experience. Hightower Signature Wealth had more than $40 billion in AUM as of June 30.
“Technology and AI present significant opportunities to streamline how we operate and elevate the experience we deliver to advisors and clients,” De Freitas said. “Hightower has tremendous momentum and a differentiated set of resources. I look forward to working with Larry and the broader leadership team to build on that foundation and support the firm’s continued evolution.”
Merit Names Mayhue CEO, Mersberger President
Merit Financial Advisors announced leadership changes effective Jan. 1, 2027, with Founder and CEO Rick Kent moving to Executive Chairman, Kay Lynn Mayhue becoming CEO and Zach Mersberger becoming President. Kent and Mayhue have worked together in leadership since 2017. Mayhue brings experience as an advisor, business owner and participant in M&A transactions, while Mersberger is a second-generation wealth advisor who joined Merit through a firm partnership about three years ago.
As President, Mersberger will focus on enterprise execution and alignment. Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer Brian Andrew will add the Chief Strategy Officer role, Chief Operating Officer Chrissy Lee will add the title of Chief Enterprise Officer and Alex Hansen will take broader responsibilities as Chief Advisor Success Officer. Merit said the changes are part of a planned leadership evolution intended to preserve continuity while distributing operating and strategic responsibilities across the executive team.
“I have sat in the advisor’s chair, built a business, bought businesses and made the decision to sell a business,” Mayhue said. “Each of those experiences gives you a different perspective on what growth really requires. There are financial and strategic considerations, but there are also questions about people, clients, values, legacy and what the next chapter should look like. Those realities are always part of the conversation at Merit.”
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