RIA moves: The Mather Group deepens DFW presence with Legacy Partnership

The Mather Group, a Chicago-based, fee-only firm overseeing $17 billion, has partnered with Legacy Consulting Group. Legacy is a Plano, Texas, practice with more than $400 million in assets under management. The deal gives TMG a bigger presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, a region it has been building out.

Legacy is run by partners Roger Shake and Steven Wachs, who each have more than 35 years in the business. Shake’s practice centers on clients going through major personal and financial transitions. Wachs is Legacy’s chief investment officer and sets its investment philosophy and process.

The firm serves individuals, families and business owners with a model it calls financial life planning, which links money decisions to a client’s values and long-term goals.

Legacy’s clients will now have access to TMG’s tax, estate, financial planning and investment management resources.

“By bringing our teams together, we can preserve the personalized relationships and thoughtful planning Legacy’s clients value while expanding the resources and capabilities available to support them through every stage of their financial lives,” said Jennifer des Groseilliers, TMG’s chief executive.

Wachs said the move supports a long-horizon approach. “Our role is to help clients look beyond short-term market movements, stay focused on the plan we’ve built together, and make decisions with their long-term objectives in mind,” he said.

The addition of Legacy builds on The Mather Group's inorganic growth strategy, which this year has also seen it absorb a $300 million planning firm in New Jersey and a fellow Chicago-based firm with a focus on business owners.

Summit Wealth adds another Commonwealth advisor in Tennessee

Summit Wealth Group, an independent RIA based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has acquired the practice of Scott Hardy. Hardy oversees approximately $189 million in client assets and is leaving Commonwealth Financial Network. He will work from Summit’s Brentwood, Tennessee, office as a senior financial advisor.

The deal isn't the first time Summit has reeled in a defector from Commonwealth. After breaking away from Commonwealth itself to become an RIA with $2.1 billion in assets, it expanded in Tennessee with its acquisition of $470 million Premier Private Wealth, another firm with Commonwealth roots.

“Having operated within the Commonwealth ecosystem ourselves, we understand both what advisors value about that model and what they’re looking for as their practices evolve,” said Randy Morris, Summit’s chief executive.

Hardy said he wanted more support without changing how he serves clients. “What attracted me to Summit was the opportunity to preserve the way I work with clients while adding significantly more resources behind that relationship,” he said.

Oxford sharpens private markets focus for wealthy families

Oxford Financial Group, an Indiana-based multifamily office overseeing more than $38 billion in assets under advisement, has named Scott Ryan and Nicholas Detmer managing directors and partners.

Both are joining Regent Street, Oxford’s private markets team. They will lead sourcing, due diligence and monitoring of primary fund commitments and co-investments, including with emerging managers.

Ryan spent more than 11 years as senior director of investments at the Indiana University Foundation. There he helped oversee part of an endowment of approximately $3.8 billion, covering buyouts, early-stage venture capital, real assets and hedge funds.

Detmer joins from alternatives consultant Aksia, where he was a managing director advising large institutional investors. Before Aksia, he spent nearly a decade at the Indiana Public Retirement System, where his roles included deputy chief investment officer and director of private equity.

Jeffrey Thomasson, Oxford’s chief executive, said the hires fit what the firm’s clients need.

“Many of the families who come to Oxford have recently sold a business, and they’re looking for a thoughtful way to put that capital back to work in private companies,” he said.

Verdence hires Fidelity veteran in Naples

Verdence Capital Advisors is a Hunt Valley, Maryland, private wealth advisory and multifamily office with approximately $5 billion in assets under management. It has hired Craig Rauser from Fidelity to join its Naples, Florida, office as director and private wealth advisor.

Rauser has nearly two decades of industry experience and will work with ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families.

“Craig has built long-term relationships and helped clients through significant financial decisions and life changes,” said Leo Kelly, Verdence’s founder and chief executive.

Rauser said he was drawn to the firm’s broader bench and deeper pool of resources.

“My work has always centered on helping clients make thoughtful decisions during periods of change,” he said, highlighting how he now has "access to a broader team and resources that can support advice across investment management, financial planning and other areas of a client’s financial life."

Back in March, Verdence announced a fresh injection of capital investment through a planned partnership with Wealth Partners Capital Group and HGGC.

Last month, it crossed an AUM milestone with the addition of $564M Harvest Investment Consultants, a record-size acquisition for the firm which pushed it to the $5 billion mark.

“The strategy is to continue to build through the East Coast and then push west ... and be a national brand in five years,” Kelly told InvestmentNews at the time.