Creative Planning expands in California with Maxwell Wealth Strategies

Creative Planning, the $345 billion AUM RIA consolidator, has officially kicked off its 2025 deal season by welcoming an experienced planning team in California.

On Tuesday, the Overland Park, Kansas-headquartered RIA giant headed by Peter Mallouk revealed it has acquired Maxwell Wealth Strategies, a Pleasanton, California-based RIA with more than $290 million in assets under management.

Apart from expanding Creative Planning's reach, the partnership finalized on January 17 "marks the beginning of a transformative year ahead focused on ... enhancing our commitment to exceptional client service," Mallouk said in a statement Tuesday.

Founded in 2015, Maxwell Wealth Strategies provides investment management, financial planning, and risk mitigation services, with a focus on personalized client relationships.

Eric Maxwell, the firm's namesake CEO, has been in the wealth industry for more than three decades, according to his BrokerCheck record. Prior to joining Creative Planning, Maxwell was affiliated with Raymond James' independent advisor channel, Raymond James Financial Services. Earlier in his career, he spent time at Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo.

Also on Tuesday, RJFS announced an addition to its ranks in North Dakota by welcoming Matt Schultz to the established team at Midwest Wealth. Catering to a diverse clientele of business owners, retirees, families, and farmers, Schultz came to Raymond James from LPL, where he reportedly managed $160 million in client assets.

In a statement announcing his move, Schultz highlighted Raymond James' "support and investment options" and "technology," as well as the ability to "have control over how my clients are treated."

Before its acquisition in California, Creative Planning announced in mid-January that it had snapped up Krivoshein | McDaniels Financial, an RIA based in Walla Wall, Washington. Overseeeing $460 million in assets for a diverse client base, the six-person team is led by Scott Krivoshein, who founded the practice in 2001 and was joined a decade later by Kim McDaniels in 2011.

Earlier in January, Creative Planning announced its acquisition of Kowal Investment Group, a $1.3 billion RIA practice in Wisconsin.

The RIA aggregator got fresh fuel for its expansion strategy last September with a minority investment from TPG Capital. That transaction was the second most significant deal in Echelon's tracking for 2024. That was topped only by the late-November revelation of CI Financial being taken private by Mubadala Capital, which valued the Canada-based firm at roughly $8.7 billion US.

Prior to that, Creative Planning revealed it was making an ambitious push to expand its workforce, aiming to add more than 100 financial professionals including CPAs, financial planners, and wealth managers to its ranks by the end of this year.

"We've spent a lot of time building out the 401(k) business and our offering for business owners as well. With that integration behind us, we're focused on the next level," Mallouk told InvestmentNews at the time. "That said, we hope to have more organic growth in next 15 months and hope for acquisitions as well."