RIA acquisitions expand Sequoia and Simplicity footprints

Two registered investment advisors made strategic acquisitions this week, underscoring the relentless pace of consolidation reshaping the wealth management industry as firms race to add scale, geography, and specialized capabilities.

Sequoia Financial Group, LLC, an Akron, Ohio-based RIA overseeing $34.9 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026, announced the acquisition of All Star Financial, a Twin Cities wealth management firm managing $796 million in client assets along with $566 million in retirement plan assets under advisement.

Separately, New Jersey-based Simplicity Group Holdings announced it had acquired Mid-Atlantic Wealth Advisory Group, a Pennsylvania RIA, folding the firm into a newly named entity called Simplicity Wealth Advisors.

Neither deal disclosed financial terms.

Building out the Upper Midwest

For Sequoia, the All Star acquisition marks its second move into the Minneapolis-St. Paul market in roughly 14 months, following its April 2025 acquisition of Carlson Capital Management. The deal adds 14 employees and deepens Sequoia's in-house tax planning infrastructure through integration with its existing Sequoia Tax Services division.

Tom Haught, Sequoia's chairman and chief executive, said All Star Financial had constructed a disciplined, client-centered practice with a strong foundation in tax strategy, qualities he described as a cultural fit for the firm's acquisition model.

Robert Klefsaas, All Star's founder and chief executive, will remain involved through the integration process. Klefsaas noted that his clients had come to expect proactive, practical guidance on financial decisions and tax efficiency, and said that continuing that work within Sequoia's broader platform was a natural extension of that commitment.

The deal brings Sequoia's national footprint to 43 offices across more than 20 states, serving approximately 11,500 client households.

Simplicity deepens the Mid-Atlantic bench

In Pennsylvania, Simplicity Group Holdings added Mid-Atlantic Wealth Advisory Group, a firm founded in 2012 that serves professionals, business owners, and pre-retirees through holistic financial planning.

The two founders, Dennis Maguire and Robert Sayre, joined the combined organization as partners.

Bruce Donaldson, Simplicity's partner and chief executive, framed the deal as an opportunity to pair the Mid-Atlantic team's advisory expertise with Simplicity's unified securities and insurance platform, providing the institutional-grade resources needed to scale the practice across the region.

Maguire described Simplicity's tools and specialist network as a significant advantage for growth, while Sayre pointed to the firm's marketing capabilities and support infrastructure as freeing the team to focus on client outcomes rather than operational overhead.

The acquisition is consistent with a broader pattern of partnership-oriented consolidators recruiting experienced advisor teams in markets where independent practices may lack access to enterprise-level technology and compliance infrastructure.

M&A momentum shows no sign of slowing

The two deals reflect dynamics that have defined the independent advice channel throughout 2026: larger platforms acquiring founder-led practices with specialized talent, strong client relationships, and the desire for operational support that solo or smaller enterprises increasingly struggle to provide on their own.

The wealth management sector has seen an accelerating wave of RIA acquisitions from aggregators of varying structures, from private equity-backed rollups to partnership models like Simplicity, each competing for a finite pool of quality firms. With buyers now ranging from billion-dollar national platforms to regionally focused consolidators, advisors weighing succession options have more choices than at any previous point in the industry's history.