RIA moves: Merchant forges new partnership with $2.5B IFC Advisors

Another multibillion-dollar firm has come into Merchant's sprawling network of RIA partners, while CAPTRUST and EP Wealth each announced additions of their own in the East Coast and Florida.

Merchant backs IFC Advisors to scale purpose-led RIA

Merchant said it has taken a stake in IFC Advisors, a Los Angeles RIA overseeing about $2.5 billion in assets. The firm becomes part of Merchant’s ecosystem of more than 125 partner firms and RIA practices across six countries, collectively managing in excess of $300 billion in assets.

The partnership gives IFC access to Merchant’s menu of resources, including talent and recruiting support, technology, operations, M&A sourcing and execution, and other advisory-adjacent services. As a self-declared lifecycle equity partner, Merchant positions its capital as long-duration and flexible, with the goal of backing leadership teams while preserving their autonomy over the long haul.

IFC, which focuses on high-net-worth individuals, families, entrepreneurs, and multigenerational households, has been pursuing a growth plan centered on bringing in experienced advisors and selectively acquiring RIAs that share its values-driven approach. The firm’s work is organized around what it calls a proprietary Purpose Architecture framework that blends planning, investment management, family office services, and estate, legacy and philanthropic strategy.

Tim Bello, co-founder and managing partner at Merchant, said IFC “exemplifies what we mean by partnering with purpose” and described its culture as one where values serve as a practical lens for business decisions rather than “a tagline.”

IFC chief executive Dave Colón framed the tie-up as a way to pursue expansion without straying from the firm’s mission, highlighting the two organizations' shared belief in “purpose, people, and enduring relationships” as the foundation for the wealth industry's future.

Founder and managing partner Marc Ackerman added that the deal is intended to help IFC invest further in its people and capabilities while maintaining its fiduciary approach and core mission.

CAPTRUST brings Suncoast Prosperity Advisors into its private wealth fold

In Florida and North Carolina, CAPTRUST is adding a team and new locations through a partnership with Suncoast Prosperity Advisors, a wealth management practice and division of Suncoast Equity Management based in Tampa.

The move adds to what's been a pretty active month for CAPTRUST, which in the past few weeks announced its addition of $3.8 billion Alpha Cubed in Southern California and $2.4 billion Meritage Portfolio Management in Kansas.

Suncoast Prosperity Advisors oversees roughly $830 million for private wealth clients, offering planning-led advice and investment management. The group is led by president Jeff Strouse and includes eight professionals, among them senior advisors Beth Neal and Terri Ritchie. With the move, CAPTRUST gains a second office in Tampa and enters Sanibel, Florida, and Highlands, North Carolina.

Strouse said Suncoast was built on the belief that advice should evolve as clients’ lives become more complex and noted that joining CAPTRUST adds “expanded capabilities and resources” while allowing the team to remain focused on personal relationships and a client-centered model.

Eric Bailey, a principal and southeast regional leader at CAPTRUST, highlighted Suncoast’s culture and how the team serves clients, saying the group adds meaningful depth to the firm’s private wealth business.

Suncoast Equity Management, the investment management company from which the practice came over in January, will continue to operate independently as a boutique manager.

EP Wealth extends Arizona reach with Thompson Wealth Management deal

EP Wealth, based in Torrance, California, is pushing deeper into Arizona with the acquisition of Thompson Wealth Management, an RIA that manages more than $300 million and concentrates on serving federal employees.

The deal marks EP Wealth’s third partnership of 2026, following Capital Insight Partners in Scottsdale and LongView Asset Management in New Mexico.

Thompson was founded in 2010 and has been recognized by InvestmentNews as one of the Top 100 Financial Advisors in the US for 2025. The firm pairs a planning-first, technology-enabled service model with specialization in federal retirement benefits, an area that has become increasingly important for advisors targeting government workers and their families.

Founder and chief executive Neal Thompson and his six-person team will join EP Wealth as part of the firm’s Arizona footprint, which is overseen by regional directors M.J. Nodilo and Adrian Larson.

Thompson highlighted his firm's mandate “to help our clients build a future they love,” and described joining EP Wealth as a way to deliver on that promise “at an even higher level.”