Cerity Partners to merge with $1.4B Shufro Rose advisory teams

Cerity Partners intends to merge with two wealth advisory practices from Shufro Rose & Co., adding approximately $1.4 billion in assets under management and extending the New York-based RIA's reach deeper into one of the country's most competitive urban markets.

The deal unites the Contant-Leit Group and the Wacht Group, two Manhattan-based advisory teams, under the Cerity Partners brand. Their principals, John Contant, Stephen Leit, and Harvey Wacht, bring decades of experience managing wealth for high-net-worth individuals and families, with client relationships that span, on average, 21 years. The three have been with Shufro Rose since 1984, 1996, and 2001, respectively.

"We couldn't be more excited to join Cerity Partners, a firm that shares the values that have guided our practice for decades - independence, diligence, and always putting clients first," said John Contant, Principal and Senior Financial Advisor at Shufro Rose & Co. "As a part of Cerity Partners, our clients will receive the same personalized guidance from the same trusted team, now backed by a broader set of resources, expertise, and capabilities to help them achieve even more."

The incoming practices cover a broad planning spectrum, including retirement, estate and legacy planning, insurance, tax strategy, and investment management across multiple client generations.

A storied firm's practices find new homes

The deal marks the latest departures from Shufro Rose in 2026 following  the Shufro-Glass Group - a two-advisor practice within the firm, overseeing more than $760 million in client assets that agreed to join Wealth Enhancement in July, swifty followed by the Kaminsky-Silverman Group.

Shufro Rose traces its founding to 1938 and has operated as an independent advisory firm across multiple generations of ownership and market cycles.

Claire O'Keefe, Head of Partner Development at Cerity Partners, framed the combination in terms of cultural fit. "Their deep, multigenerational client relationships, commitment to their colleagues, and their presence in New York will strengthen our ability to serve individuals, families, and businesses," O'Keefe said.

Cerity's New York ambitions

For Cerity Partners, the transaction is the latest in what has become one of the more active deal runs of any RIA in the country.

The firm, founded in 2009 and backed by private equity firm Genstar Capital, managed approximately $206.7 billion in client assets as of 31 July, 2026. Among its larger moves this year, Cerity merged with Verus Investments, a Seattle-based institutional consulting firm advising on approximately $1.2 trillion in assets, a deal that significantly broadened its institutional capabilities.

The firm has recorded six transactions in 2026, placing it among the most prolific acquirers in the industry during a record-breaking stretch for RIA dealmaking. According to a midyear report from Berkshire Global Advisors cited by InvestmentNews, 225 advisory transactions were completed in the first half of 2026 involving firms with at least $100 million in assets, a jump of nearly 40 percent from the same period in 2025.

The Shufro Rose merger deepens Cerity's footprint in its home market. The firm is headquartered in New York City and has been building out its local presence alongside its national expansion into markets including Texas, Maryland, Oregon, and the Pacific Northwest.

Houlihan Lokey advised the Contant-Leit and Wacht Groups on the transaction. Katz Teller is providing legal counsel to the incoming practices, while Lowenstein Sandler is acting as legal counsel to Cerity Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.