BridgePort taps Osaic M&A veteran to drive fee-only RIA growth

BridgePort Financial Solutions has recruited one of the RIA industry's most experienced dealmakers to lead its next phase of expansion, naming Tina Decker senior vice president of business development as the Phoenix-based firm looks to accelerate its national acquisition strategy.

Decker spent more than two decades at Osaic where she held senior roles spanning operations, executive strategy, and succession planning before most recently serving as vice president of M&A and succession planning. In that capacity, she negotiated and executed more than 400 transactions representing over $10 billion in acquired and retained assets.

Her appointment arrives at a moment of record-level activity in the RIA space. The first quarter of 2026 set an all-time record with 142 transactions closed, with total transacted AUM reaching $1.67 trillion - a 107 percent year-over-year increase from the $805 billion recorded in Q1 2025, according to ECHELON Partners' Q1 2026 Quarterly RIA M&A Deal Report.

Against that backdrop, fee-only RIAs are increasingly in demand among buyers looking to add high-quality advisory practices with clean revenue structures.

BridgePort, which operates as a registered investment advisor dedicated to helping fee-only advisory firms navigate growth and succession, positions itself as a partner for practices that want to preserve their independence while gaining access to operational infrastructure, technology, and acquisition capital.

The firm hired another Osaic alumna, Clara Sierra as managing director in May 2026.

Acquisitions take AUA past $2 billion

The firm surpassed $2 billion in assets under advisement in 2024 following a pair of acquisitions - including the purchase of PearTree Advisory Group, a Roseville, California-based practice with approximately $275 million in assets under advisement,  and full ownership of Premier Wealth Advisors, an Indianapolis-based firm with approximately $140 million in assets.

In her new role, Decker will report to Clara Sierra, BridgePort's managing director, and will oversee the firm's full M&A lifecycle — from sourcing and financial modeling through due diligence, negotiation, and advisor onboarding. She will also collaborate with the executive team on corporate strategy.

"Tina's combination of M&A expertise, deep industry relationships, and true understanding of what makes a transition successful for advisors, firms, and clients is second-to-none," Sierra said. "Having spent her career helping advisors navigate some of the most important decisions in the life of their business, Tina's perspective will be invaluable as we expand BridgePort's presence in the fee-only RIA space."

Succession planning platform

At Osaic, Decker was co-creator of My Succession Plan, an interactive matching platform designed to help advisors identify continuity and transition partners.

Her career has tracked the industry's evolving approach to succession from a largely informal process to a structured, data-driven discipline that has become central to how advisory firms plan for longevity. She held multiple leadership positions at Advisor Group across operations, quality assurance, and executive strategy before the firm rebranded as Osaic.

RIA consolidation has become one of the defining forces reshaping the wealth management industry. A DeVoe & Company report found that consolidators purchased small firms under $500 million in 42 percent of their first-half 2026 transactions. It’s a segment that BridgePort has historically targeted, though the firm has signaled openness to larger opportunities.

Recruiting a dealmaker of Decker's caliber reflects a broader pattern among growth-oriented RIAs: investment in dedicated M&A infrastructure is becoming as important as the capital behind the deals themselves.

For fee-only advisors weighing their options in an increasingly competitive acquisition environment, BridgePort's model (offering minority, majority, or full ownership stakes) has been designed to give sellers flexibility that large consolidators often cannot.

The firm's roots in Cambridge Investment Research give it access to shared services and technology infrastructure, while operating as a standalone entity. Decker's track record suggests BridgePort is building toward exactly that. For advisors tracking people moves across the RIA channel, this hire carries weight.