RIA moves: Beacon Pointe tops $4B in New England with latest female-founded partner firm

Beacon Pointe Advisors has expanded its footprint in Massachussets as it draws another female-founded RIA into its network.

The Newport Beach, California-headquartered acquirer announced Tuesday that it has absorbed Financially In Tune, a Stoneham, Mass.-based wealth management firm founded in 2011.

The deal is the sixth team addition Beacon Pointe has made in Massachusetts in the past two years, pushing the firm's New England client assets under advisement to approximately $4.3 billion.

Founded by Jeanne Gibson Sullivan, Financially In Tune oversees roughly $360 million in assets and operates under a fiduciary model alongside partners Sullivan and Philip Lee.

The firm's emphasis on financial education and guidance through life transitions mirrors what Beacon Pointe has built through its Women's Advisory Institute, the announcement said.

"Over the past 15 years, we have been committed to offering financial planning solutions tailored to each individual's unique situation, concerns, and perspectives," Sullivan said. "As our firm grew, we came to recognize the importance of partnering with a firm that would allow us to expand the resources available to our clients and our team."

Beacon Pointe CEO Matt Cooper called the New England market a continued area of focus, describing Sullivan's team as sharing the firm's "client-first philosophy."

Co-founder and Chairman Shannon Eusey, who ceded the CEO role to Cooper in February, pointed to cultural alignment as a key driver, noting the team's "empathy, transparency, and a strong educational focus."

The acquisition lifts Beacon Pointe's total assets under advisement to approximately $63 billion, supported by more than 800 employees across 93 offices. The firm has been among the more active acquirers in the RIA space, and its allWEALTH solutions platform has served as a core pitch to prospective partners.

Carson Group deepens ties with storied Phoenix firm

Carson Group announced the full integration of Meikle Financial Group, a Phoenix-based advisory practice, into its Carson Wealth office network.

The firm, which manages $111 million in advisory and brokerage assets, has been a Carson partner since 2018 but will now operate directly under the Carson Wealth umbrella.

The move comes a few weeks after Carson Group's acquisition of Harbor Wealth Management in Wisconsin, which now also operates as a Carson Wealth office in Green Bay.

Meikle Financial was founded in 1969 by Bill Meikle following his retirement from the Air Force. His son Dail joined the firm in 1983 and has led it since 1997, building a practice focused on retirement planning, estate planning, tax planning, and investment management for affluent retirees.

"Having spent the entirety of my career growing this firm, rounding out the journey with a full integration with Carson Group felt like the natural next step," Dail Meikle said. "This transition allows us to maintain our personal, family-oriented approach while gaining access to a deeper bench of operational and planning support."

Carson Group CEO Burt White framed the move as a continuity play, emphasizing that the integration positions the firm for generational transition.

Bruce Eisenhauer, a managing partner, will take on a more client-facing leadership role, supported by client experience advocate Michelle Donner and operations manager Jarica Meikle.

Carson Group manages more than $58 billion in assets across a network of 165-plus partner offices, including more than 50 Carson Wealth locations serving upward of 60,000 client families.

The Meikle integration reflects a broader pattern of long-tenured independent practices increasingly seeking the operational infrastructure of larger platforms as succession planning pressures intensify.

Read more: Defusing the industry's ticking time bomb

Triad Wealth hails organic growth surge to $2 billion

Triad Wealth Partners announced it has surpassed $2 billion in assets under management, a fivefold increase since the start of 2025.

The Triad affiliate, which launched in 2023, attributed the growth primarily to organic advisor productivity rather than acquisitions or market appreciation.

The firm's growth model centers on what it calls a Unified Planning approach – integrating annuities, insurance, and traditional investment strategies within a single platform alongside centralized compliance, operations, and marketing support. The pitch has drawn independent advisors who want infrastructure without sacrificing autonomy.

"Surpassing $2 billion in AUM in less than three years is proof that when advisors are given the right resources, autonomy and professional network, there's no ceiling on what they can achieve," said Brad Johnson, co-founder of Triad Partners.

"Even our more established advisors are growing at 45% to 55% annually, with multiple firms on pace to more than double their AUM this year," said Scott Rinehart, president and chief wealth officer of Triad Wealth.

As of June last year, the Lawrence, Kansas-based RIA had expected to reach $1 billion in AUM by the end of 2025.

Brent Coggins, chief investment officer at Triad Wealth, pointed to the firm's "member obsession" model – guaranteeing advisors direct access to planning, investment, and operations resources – as a differentiator from larger, more bureaucratic platforms.

Triad Partners was founded in 2020 as a field marketing organization and remains privately held. The parent company has focused on building out Triad Wealth as a longer-term growth vehicle, positioning it as an alternative for advisors who want the capabilities of a large RIA without giving up equity or independence.