Freehold Wealth Management brings $576M to Osaic in multigenerational move

A South Carolina estate planning firm built across three family members has joined Osaic's national network, adding approximately $576 million in client assets to the independent broker-dealer's growing roster.

Freehold Wealth Management, based in Landrum, South Carolina, was previously affiliated with Stifel Independent Advisors, which was acquired by Equitable Advisors earlier this year following a deal that closed in February 2026.

The move brings a firm whose story is as much about family as it is about finance. Freehold was founded as a husband-and-wife practice by Cynthia "Cindy" Boyle and John Boyle, and has since grown to include their daughter, Mary Steele, who serves as managing partner. The firm has also extended its geographic footprint beyond its Carolinas base, with financial professionals now serving clients in Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina.

Freehold focuses on estate- and trust-oriented guidance, serving what it describes as a diverse client base. The team cited several factors behind its decision to affiliate with Osaic: the platform's scale, its curated asset management capabilities through Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management - an Osaic affiliate - and the breadth of its succession-planning resources. For a firm explicitly positioning itself as a multigenerational business, that last point carried particular weight.

"Freehold Wealth Management has always been built around family, trusted relationships and helping clients plan thoughtfully for the future," said Cindy Boyle. "Osaic offers the scale and depth of resources we were seeking while preserving the close-knit, entrepreneurial environment that is central to our culture."

Steele, who joined the firm after her parents, offered her own take on what the affiliation means for the business's long-term ambitions.

"I'm focused on building our family business into a firm that can serve clients and their families for decades to come," she said. "Osaic's community, succession-planning capabilities and broad wealth management resources give us a strong foundation for that next chapter. We're excited to collaborate with and work in a community that understands both where we have come from and where we want to go."

A platform with succession on its mind

The Freehold affiliation is part of a sustained push by Osaic - formerly known as Advisor Group before its 2023 rebrand - to attract firms with an eye on long-term continuity. The Scottsdale-based platform, which supports more than 11,000 financial professionals nationwide and is backed by private equity firm Reverence Capital Partners, has made succession planning a recurring theme in its recruitment strategy.

Earlier in 2025, Osaic made a majority investment in Innovative Wealth Team, a Nashville-based firm providing succession planning services for advisors nearing retirement, citing projections that more than $124 trillion in assets are expected to transfer generationally by 2048. The platform also deepened a partnership with succession-planning software provider RISR last year, giving its advisor network broader access to business valuation and transition tools.

Shannon Reid, president of Osaic and head of advisor growth and engagement, said the Freehold team fit the mold of what the platform aims to attract. Reid, a Raymond James veteran who joined Osaic earlier this year, noted a personal connection to the firm's leadership through shared work on the Financial Services Institute Board.

"Freehold Wealth Management represents the type of entrepreneurial, client-focused firm that thrives at Osaic," Reid said. "They built a meaningful multigenerational business grounded in personal service and long-term relationships, and we are proud to support their continued growth across the communities they serve."

The affiliation announcement follows several other firms that have recently joined the Osaic network, including Pearce Financial, Signature Private Wealth Management, and Neville & Associates. Advisors who joined the Freehold team as part of the transition include Shelley Strobel-Erhardt, James Thornton, Mark Bloomer, Michael Wiseman and Jerry Pyles.

Osaic's recruitment activity comes as the firm targets what it has described publicly as sustainable organic growth rather than continued consolidation following years of integrating multiple legacy broker-dealer brands into a single platform.