Captrust adds $1.25B Pennsylvania firm in latest push into private wealth

Captrust Financial Advisors has added Stillwater Capital Advisors, a Devon, Pennsylvania-based wealth management firm with $1.25 billion in assets under management, in a deal that extends the Raleigh-based giant's private wealth footprint into the greater Philadelphia suburbs.

Stillwater, led by co-founder Doug Swope and a team of six professionals, serves individuals, small businesses, endowments, and foundations. The firm will adopt the Captrust brand – consistent with previous transactions – and gives Captrust its fifth office in Pennsylvania. FP Transitions served as Stillwater's advisor.

"Joining Captrust gives us access to a network of resources and technology which will free up more of our time to help our clients with their financial, family, and life goals," Swope said in a Thursday statement. "The firm's client-first focus has been evident every step of the way and matches the Stillwater culture."

Rick Shoff, managing director at Captrust, said the firm was drawn to Stillwater's team quality and long-term orientation. "They have built a strong reputation through discipline, integrity, and long-term thinking," Shoff said. "Their addition strengthens our private wealth presence in Pennsylvania, and we're excited to support their continued growth as part of Captrust."

A measured but consistent acquirer

The Stillwater deal is a representative example of Captrust's approach to M&A – disciplined, values-driven, and focused on cultural compatibility over sheer asset volume. Compared to some rivals that have chased blockbuster transactions, Captrust has built its platform more intentionally, one carefully selected firm at a time.

Reporting more than $1 trillion in total client assets as of mid-2025, Captrust stands as the largest registered investment advisor in the U.S. by combined discretionary and non-discretionary AUM. The firm employs approximately 1,900 people and serves around five million plan participants across roughly 3,000 retirement plans, with private wealth management representing a growing share of its business.

Read more: Captrust chief says $1T AUM milestone is a 'surreal achievement'

At $1.25 billion in AUM, Stillwater is slightly below the average deal size industrywide. According to Echelon Partners' first-quarter 2026 RIA M&A Deal Report, average assets per transaction reached $1.8 billion in Q1, driven upward by a wave of large, PE-backed transactions. 

Echelon's data identified Captrust as one of the top buyers of $1 billion-plus transactions in Q1 2026, alongside Cerity Partners, Beacon Pointe Advisors, Savant Capital Management, Creative Planning, NewEdge Advisors, and Wealth Enhancement Group – each completing two or more deals in that size range during the quarter.

In its its own first-quarter RIA M&A deal report, DeVoe ranked Captrust among the top acquirers in the first quarter, as it completed three transactions – already matching its total deal count for all of 2025. DeVoe attributed the acceleration in part to Captrust's new dedicated M&A team, which has sharpened the firm's sourcing and execution capabilities.

What sellers want – and what Captrust offers

Mike Wunderli, who joined as CAPTRUST's managing director of M&A last year, offered a clear-eyed read on what is driving firms like Stillwater to seek a partner.

"Firms are increasingly seeking partners that can provide operational resources and strategic support around succession planning, growth, and rising regulatory complexity," Wunderli said.

That pitch has resonated broadly. According to DeVoe & Company's 2025 Annual RIA M&A Outlook, 49% of sellers cited growth as their primary motivation for pursuing an external partnership – reflecting a widespread recognition that organic growth, which most RIAs generate at roughly 3% annually, is difficult to sustain independently. At the same time, succession affordability has become an acute constraint: DeVoe found that only 22% of RIA leaders believe their next-generation successors can afford to buy them out, down from 38% in 2021.

For firms that are capable but capacity-constrained, with no clear internal succession path, a partnership with a scaled platform like Capstrust represents one of the more compelling options available to independent advisors today. Captrust's integration model, as Wunderli describes it, offers operational lift, technology access, compliance support, and cross-referral potential that boutique firms are unlikely to match on their own.

Cultural alignment has also become a decisive factor. DeVoe's research found that 69% of buyers in 2025 cited cultural fit as the single most important characteristic they look for in an acquisition target – a figure that more than quadrupled from the prior year.

"Thoughtful, values-driven combinations will continue to define the next phase of growth," Wunderli said.