Boston-based RIA platform CW Advisors has gained strength in its home area with two new additions to its nationwide network.
The firm has acquired two RIA firms, Aspire Wealth Management in Waltham and Fernwood Investment Management in Quincy.
CW Advisors' first deals for 2025, which closed in January, add more than $800 million in assets under management to the Boston-based firm.
The acquisitions announced Monday bring CW Advisors’ total assets under management to $11 billion. The firm now operates 14 offices nationwide with a staff of 119.
“We are excited to welcome the Aspire and Fernwood teams and their clients to CWA,” Scott Dell’Orfano, chief executive officer of CW Advisors, said in a statement. “Mark, Bill and Jenny, as well as Tom and his team are a great complement to the growing CWA team. Their exceptional services and high-touch approach with clients make Aspire and Fernwood ideal additions to our firm.”
Aspire and Fernwood both serve high-net-worth clients, focusing on financial planning and investment management. By integrating with CW Advisors, the firms expect to gain access to expanded resources and operational support.
“We look forward to leveraging the CWA platform to provide an expanded offering and continued premium service to our clients,” said Mark Khozozian, chief executive officer of Aspire.
Fernwood founder Thomas Reilly added, “By joining CWA, we are able to continue to work closely with our clients to help achieve their goals while benefitting from the larger organization and resources CWA provides.”
While 2024 was a breakout year for RIA M&A deals, CW Advisors – which is backed by private equity firm Audax – appeared to opt for a selective strategy of inorganic growth.
The firm's quiet calendar of transactions was broken by its July acquisition of Mercadien Asset Management in New Jersey, which it followed up with a deal to snap up fee-only RIA Agili in October, which is based in Virginia.
A $141M judgment and a federal asset freeze collide over one shrinking pool
The firm's CFO and EVP of Wealth Management Solutions are the latest executives to exit the broker-dealer.
Clients are saying they would consider switching advisors if another professional offered estate planning services, according to a new Trust & Will survey.
CEO Laurel Taylor says the fintech's composable AI stack helps workers optimize dollars across Trump Accounts, 529s, 401(k)s, and other employee benefits.
The bank has swiped three private banking veterans from BNY as the city climbs the ranks of America's fastest-growing wealth hubs.
Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income
Direct indexing is on pace to outgrow ETFs and mutual funds. Northern Trust's Ken Lassner explains why the advisors who get it wish they had started sooner.
