Office address: 155 Seaport Blvd., 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02210
Website: cwadvisorsgroup.com
Year established: 2009
Company type: financial services
Employees: 160+
Expertise: wealth management, family office services, financial planning, investment management, private equity, private credit, private real estate, venture capital, ESG and impact investing, tax and estate planning
Parent company: Osaic Holdings, Inc.
Key people: Scott Dell'Orfano (CEO), Ken Zannoni and Rich Villiotte (presidents), Jennifer DeSisto (CIO), Erin Wendell (CFO), Michael Galvin (executive managing director), Candace Cavalier (general counsel)
Financing status: corporate-backed or acquired
CW Advisors (CWA) is a Boston-based, fee-only RIA that serves high-net-worth (HNW) individuals, families, and endowments. The firm offers wealth management, financial planning, and family office services across 23 offices nationwide. It manages more than $16 billion in assets as of February 2026 and operates as a subsidiary of Osaic Holdings.
CWA was founded by Ken Zannoni in Boston in March 2009 as Congress Wealth Management, a fee-only RIA. The company built its early business around wealth management, financial planning, and family office work for affluent clients.
The company stayed independent for years, then took a minority investment from CI Financial in 2020. That move gave it outside backing as it looked to expand beyond its earlier Boston footprint.
Then, in April 2023, Boston private equity firm Audax bought CI's stake and became the majority owner. After Audax took control, the company accelerated its acquisition activity and later reported stronger asset growth.
The firm changed its name to CW Advisors in January 2024 to match its broader reach. That same year, it added Mercadien Asset Management, Cubic Asset Management, and Agili through separate deals.
Those deals added more than $3 billion in assets and pushed the firm to $10 billion. CW Advisors also hired Jennifer DeSisto as CIO in 2024.
By early 2025, CWA had become active in the RIA market. It bought Aspire Wealth Management, Fernwood Investment Management, and Delta Financial Group before another ownership shift.
In June 2025, wealth management parent Osaic bought CWA when it managed over $13 billion. Since then, the firm kept buying, reaching over $16 billion and 23 offices by February 2026.
CWA centers its offering on fee-only wealth management, family office work, and access to private-market strategies:
CW Advisors also uses third-party managers, private funds, and separate accounts in some client portfolios.
CW Advisors says its culture is built around a multidisciplinary team and a unified planning process for client work. It also states its approach centers on broad in-house expertise, coordinated advice, and ongoing client support.
CW Advisors held its second annual Women's Luncheon in October 2025 as part of a series on women in health. The firm says the event featured female healthcare leaders and supported The Ellie Fund, which helps breast cancer patients.
Scott Dell'Orfano is CEO of CW Advisors and has more than 30 years in financial services. Before joining CWA, he led Boston Private Bank's wealth management division and later served as EVP at Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services Group. Dell'Orfano also held roles at SEI Investments and earned a BS from Union College.
Other senior leaders in CW Advisors' team include:
Their roles cover investments, operations, finance, compliance, and wealth planning. This setup shows that client work and firm oversight sit with separate senior leaders.
CW Advisors kept expanding after its 2025 sale to Osaic by buying two Pennsylvania advisory teams. The firm added Capital Management Services and CHB Investment Group, which both serve HNW clients with planning and investment management.
The deals brought in $575 million in assets for CWA. For the future, that growth gives the company a larger East Coast presence and more room to add clients under its national platform.
Building on its Pennsylvania push, CW Advisors moved farther west with its February 2026 purchase of Rovin Capital, a fee-only RIA in Utah and Arizona. The deal added $849 million in assets and gave the firm its first Utah office and second Arizona location.
After that move, CWA reported more than $16 billion in AUM, over 160 professionals, and 23 offices nationwide. The acquisition will improve its position in the western US as the firm widens its office network.
A drop in interest rates and easier access to capital has reignited appetite among private equity-backed consolidators, who accounted for 53% of RIA deals so far this year- their highest share since 2021 according to DeVoe & Company.
Meanwhile, Osaic lures a high-net-worth advisor from Commonwealth in the Pacific Northwest.
The latest departures in Ohio mark another setback for the hybrid RIA, which is looking to "expanding its presence across all models and segments of the wealth management industry."
RIA assets are key for broker-dealers right now.
The firm expands its Tri-State presence with a veteran advisor group from New York, while LPL and Osaic also report smaller additions in Texas and the Hudson Valley.
Founder says switching firms has already saved him time.
The deal for the Audax-backed RIA based in Boston gives Osaic a strategic foothold to attract more advisors and clients across the wealth spectrum.
CW Advisors' latest acquisitions extend its Eastern US presence with new locations in Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Sellers shift focus: It's not about succession anymore.
Double deal pushes CW Advisors past the $12 billion barrier as Waverly debuts in the Maryland and Virginia markets.
The $11 billion RIA's latest partnerships add $800 million in assets while widening its national network to include 14 offices.
The firm's new C-suite hire with over 25 years of experience will help enhance the $10B Boston RIA's investment platform.
The Audax-backed RIA in Boston has secured new footholds in the Eastern US with its latest landmark transaction.
The Audax-backed RIA’s latest acquisition vaults it to the $8.8B AUM mark while expanding its presence in New Jersey.
