Modern Wealth and Aspen Standard Wealth have announced acquisitions this week, amid a bullish outlook for RIA mergers and acquisitions in 2025.
Aspen Standard Wealth has acquired the $2.9 billion AUM New England Private Wealth Advisors, a fee-only Boston based RIA founded 20 years ago.
The firm’s acquisitions are aimed at driving the long term potential of those it acquires rather than to resell. Firms continue to operate independently.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome the NEPWA team to the Aspen family,” said Aly Kassim-Lakha, CEO of Aspen. “At Aspen, we partner with successful RIAs like NEPWA to provide the deep support and resources they need to grow their businesses without sacrificing what makes them special to begin with. That is our commitment to our RIA partners, now and long into the future.”
Meanwhile, Modern Wealth is acquiring two firms that mark its entry into the California market with its first client-facing offices in the state.
The deals take Modern’s AUM past the $7 billion mark and includes the finalization of the acquisition of fee-only Wade Financial Advisory (with AUM of more than $700 million) and the expected close in the next few weeks of the acquisition of Planned Asset Management ($350 million AUM).
The two firms will adopt the Modern Wealth brand while a total of 20 financial professionals will be part of the growing RIA which also added three firms in December with a combined $500 million AUM and also marked its biggest ever transaction last year, a $1.4 billion AUM firm in Idaho.
“These acquisitions represent a meaningful step forward on multiple fronts as Modern Wealth expands its footprint, adds top-tier talent and deepens its service offerings,” said Jason Gordo, co-founder and president of Modern Wealth. “These exceptional firms allow us to establish our first client-facing offices in California and mark the next phase of our national expansion. Wade Financial will bolster our tax and investment management capabilities, while Planned Asset Management gains the operational, technological and administrative support needed to scale their client service.”
Mercer, Focus Partners Wealth, Mariner, Creative Planning and Captrust top the leaderboard tracking AI search results for RIA firms.
"We believe this model will help younger investors – and any investors who value a hybrid advice experience,” said Ryan Robson, principal at Edward Jones.
Conte Wealth Advisors reportedly has $1.4 billion in client assets and 20 advisors.
The Cleveland-based RIA's latest tie-up extends the firm's national footprint into the Golden State, where opinions continue to be split over a contentious billionaire wealth tax proposal.
Meanwhile, Cetera has welcomed a family-run practice from Commonwealth, and a Merrill advisor joins an existing UBS team in Connecticut.
Northern Trust’s Ken Lassner shows advisors how to convert volatility into after-tax portfolio gains
Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income
