Dealmaking momentum in the billion-dollar-plus RIA space accelerated sharply on Tuesday with a hat trick of announcements from Creative Planning, Beacon Pointe, and Elevation Point.
Creative Planning said it has acquired Baseline Wealth Management, a Swiss RIA with offices in Geneva and Zurich managing more than $1 billion in assets. The transaction adds 14 employees and marks the firm’s first international acquisition as it builds out a global wealth platform.
President and CEO Peter Mallouk said Creative Planning is “absolutely thrilled to have Baseline join” as part of its initial expansion into Europe and that the firm has long seen strong international demand for its planning-led model.
Baseline is licensed as a portfolio manager by Swiss regulator FINMA and registered as an RIA with the SEC and the Canadian Securities Administrators, serving high-net-worth clients including entrepreneurs, professional athletes, and other professionals.
Mallouk and Baseline CEO Thierry Grin positioned the deal as a way to marry Baseline’s local expertise with Creative Planning’s broader service offering and infrastructure. Grin said joining forces gives clients access to Creative Planning’s “comprehensive suite of services” while enabling the larger firm to offer a Swiss wealth management solution.
The acquisition builds on Creative Planning’s 2020 purchase of Thun Financial Advisors, founded by David Kuenzi, now international director of wealth management. Kuenzi said the Baseline team adds “significant value” to the firm’s international business and argued that Europe’s wealth market remains dominated by bank product sales with “virtually no planning or fiduciary standard.”
“Europeans want to work with Europeans, in their language and in their time zone,” he added.
On the domestic M&A front, Beacon Pointe Advisors and iM Global Partner said Litman Gregory Wealth Management, a $2.7 billion RIA with offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and St. Louis, has agreed to join Beacon Pointe.
The deal, which closed Dec. 31, pushes Beacon Pointe’s client assets under advisement to about $61 billion and deepens its Northern California presence while adding a Missouri footprint.
Litman Gregory brings decades of experience serving high-net-worth individuals and families, with an emphasis on research-driven portfolio construction, financial planning, and advanced advisory services.
Its team of 18 professionals focuses on multi-generational relationships and institutional-style investment research, including work on tax strategy, estate and legacy planning, charitable giving, and risk management coordination.
“Integrating Litman Gregory Wealth Management into Beacon Pointe adds highly experienced and knowledgeable financial advisors to our team, many of whom are based in the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Matt Cooper, president of Beacon Pointe Advisors.
CEO Shannon Eusey said Beacon Pointe is welcoming an “exceptional team” whose experience and client-first approach aligns with its platform and institutional investing philosophy, pointing to a shared emphasis on personalized, relationship-driven service.
Meanwhile, Elevation Point extended its minority investment strategy with Harbor View Private Wealth, an Atlanta-area wealth management firm that oversaw about $1.3 billion in client assets at its prior firm.
Harbor View, founded in 2019 as an affiliate of UBS, focuses on corporate executives and their families and has more than doubled its team over the past four years.
UBS has been grappling with an exodus from its advisory workforce over the past year, the fallout of a decision to change its compensation structure for 2025. The wirehouse has since announced plans to readjust advisor pay this year, but at least one industry recruiter reckons that move is "too little, too late."
Harbor View’s founding partners are framing the shift as a way to combine the flexibility of independence with access to Elevation Point’s tools, resources and ecosystem.
“Our team is committed to staying ahead of the rapidly changing wealth management landscape, ensuring we can meet the diverse and evolving needs of our high- and ultra-high-net-worth clients,” said founding partner Daniel Emerson.
Launching an independent firm with Elevation Point’s backing, he said, allows Harbor View to go “beyond traditional investment portfolios” and deliver comprehensive, personalized strategies.
The eight-member team plans to use Elevation Point’s platform to address more aspects of clients’ financial lives, from estate and legacy planning to tax strategies, risk management, business and liquidity event planning, and family governance and education.
Harbor View will custody assets through Elevation Point’s relationship with Goldman Sachs Custody Solutions.
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