Modern Wealth enters Eastern US with $1.2B deal

The RIA is expanding its capabilities in retirement planning by buying with a Rochester, New York-based practice formerly with LPL.

Less than a year after entering the scene, national RIA firm Modern Wealth Management has made a significant stride as it expands into a new regional market. The RIA announced its acquisition of Beltz Ianni & Associates, a Rochester, New York-based firm specializing in corporate retirement planning and individual wealth management.

The deal marks a substantial win for Modern Wealth as it scoops up a book of assets exceeding $1.2 billion from LPL Financial, Beltz Ianni’s former broker-dealer firm, and broadens its geographical footprint into the Eastern US.

The firm has snapped up a practice offering retirement planning services – including a “Total Retirement Plan Management” solution offer by Beltz Ianni – to small and midsize businesses in western New York.

The practice also offers other retirement plan services such as fiduciary risk management, fee benchmarking, retirement vendor selection, and employee education resources.

“Joining Modern Wealth will enable our team to leverage its breadth of resources to broaden and scale our retirement plan advisory services,” said Michelle Cannan, who will serve as managing director and head of company retirement plan services at the firm.

Beltz Ianni, which has focused on comprehensive retirement planning and investment management since 2001, manages over $700 million in retirement plan assets for more than 100 companies, as well as $500 million in assets from its brokerage and fee-based individual wealth business.

“The acquisition of Beltz Ianni not only enables our firm to serve the retirement plan management and administration needs of our business owner clients, but we’ve also added several new personal wealth management team members,” Jason Gordo, co-founder and president of Modern Wealth, said in a statement.

“We’re thrilled to join a firm dedicated to empowering advisors to serve clients in a fiduciary capacity and build customized plans to meet their unique financial needs,” said Kyle Dunn, who will be a managing director and executive financial advisor at Modern Wealth.

Modern Wealth’s deal to scoop up Beltz Ianni follows its October acquisition of Martin James Investment & Tax Management, a practice led by a father-son duo in Indiana.

It’s also the most sizable transaction since Modern Wealth’s first deal last April for Barber Financial Group and its $1.5 billion in client assets.