Just two years after taking over from private equity backers, Waverly Advisors has completed a dozen deals and grown assets by more than 200%. Meanwhile, Moneta has grown to $34 billion with its first deal since April, and Kestra announced that an Ameriprise team managing more than $300 million joined its platform in 2023.
In reported news this week:
- Mercer caught a $2.5 billion Seattle firm;
- Integrated withdrawn a $185 million Ameriprise group;
- MAI, Beacon Pointe and Perigon all announced purchases;
- Modern wealth seeds an in-house retirement plan division with a $1.2 billion acquisition in Western New York;
- A father/son team timed by a Penn Mutual broker/dealer to launch a $750 million RIA;
- Bluespring combined two firms partner to create a $1.4 billion Florida hub;
- A fledgling RIA technology platform called Complex Planning has already on board 15 new advisors in 2024
- RIA of XYPN corporation GOING its pilot program with six counselors;
- Holy place added a $1 billion spinoff from Stifel;
- And, a trio of three female partners discovered a Chicago RIA with an in-house psychologist on International Women's Day.
In talent news this week, Abby Salameh left CAIS to lead growth at RFG Advisory and Brian Price was officially named CEO of Mesirow wealth management unit.
A dozen deals bring Waverly to more than $10 billion
Waverly Advisors, a registered investment advisor based in Birmingham, Ala., has surpassed $10 billion in client assets after acquiring private equity investors Wealth Partners Capital Group and HGGC and launching an inorganic growth strategy in December 2021.
At the time, Waverly was managing approximately $3.5 billion. By the end of 2022, the firm had grown to $5.5 billion. With a dozen acquisitions now under its belt, the firm reported it had reached $10.6 billion in cumulative assets as of March 1.
Recently, Waverly announced that it acquired EFP Advisors in Jackson, Miss. The EFP represents Waverly's second deal of 2024 and expands the firm's presence in Jackson, Miss., which established through another purchase last year.
Founded in 2012 by Doug McDaniel and Chris Register, EFP includes two affiliated companies – McDaniel & Register Financial Advisors, owned by McDaniel and Register, and WO Stone Advisors, owned by Bill Stone. The two are joining Waverly, increasing the firm's assets by about $250 million.
“Joining Waverly brings tremendous growth potential,” McDaniel said in a statement. “Our clients will have access to additional resources and infrastructure while still enjoying a boutique and personalized approach to comprehensive financial planning and wealth management.”
Founded in 1999, Waverly is led by CEO Josh Reidinger and has more than 150 staff members, including 60 advisors, spread across 18 offices in the Southeast, Midwest, Texas and Colorado.
Colorado's third merger brings Moneta to Boulder
The coin based in St.
Previously working as Juniper Wealth Advisors, Amy Hiatt and Mike Walsh have joined the firm as partners with approximately $279 million in assets, bringing Moneta to approximately $34 billion in total client assets.
It is the third Colorado merger in the firm's history and her second since April. The team will continue to work out of an office in Boulder, Colo., creating Moneta's sixth office, and will use office space at Moneta's Denver location.
“This move is about positioning our clients and our firm for a more successful future,” Walsh said in a statement, citing “large-scale resources” that include administrative and operational support.
“Partnering with Moneta will allow us to expand our existing financial planning and investment management offerings to include philanthropic initiatives, tax planning, estate strategy, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity and human resources,” added Hiatt.
Moneta, which has provided financial planning services since 1933, resided in a single office until launching a national growth strategy in 2019 with the announcement that it would expand to a new location in Denver's Cherry Creek area. This was quickly followed by the firm's first acquisition. Moneta now has offices in Denver, Kansas City, Boston and Chicago, as well as St. Louis and now Boulder.
“Moneta's partnership structure means they have ownership and voice in the firm's strategic decisions along with access to a team of peers with very valuable institutional knowledge,” noted President and CEO Keith Bowles.
In its last ADV filing nearly a year ago, Moneta reported serving 6,547 individuals, 224 retirement plans, 102 charities and corporations and a handful of banks with a collective $30.6 billion under management.
Kestra Financial attracts $300 million Ameriprise team
Austin, Tex.-based Kestra Financial, a subsidiary of Kestra Holdings with two corporate RIAs managing more than $55 billion and a brokerage division, snapped up a seven-person team in Atlanta from Ameriprise in 2023.
Partners Todd Mitman and Jeremy Reese founded Element Wealth Advisors on the Ameriprise platform in 2006 and switched to Kestra for more autonomy and expanded investment opportunities, according to a release. The team grossed about $306 million, according to Forbes.
They were joined in the move by senior service advisor Ann Dickerson, director of operations and three customer service associates. Element has since added another advisor and a financial planning assistant to the team.
“Kestra Financial's capabilities enable us to elevate our service offering and enhance our ability to provide personalized guidance tailored to our client's unique goals and needs,” Reese said in a statement, calling the move “a decision of naturally”.
Kestra Financial was overseeing $103 billion in client assets across four entities at the end of 2022, about half of which were under management. That was before Kestra sold subsidiary Grove Point Financial — along with about $15 billion in assets — to Atria. WEALTH Solutions in 2023.
Kestra Holdings is majority-owned by Warburg Pincus and includes RIA Bluespring Wealth Partners and buyout-focused Arden Trust Company.