RIA moves: Wealth Enhancement snaps up $476M hybrid firm in Utah

Shortly after a key tax-focused acquisition in California, mega-RIA Wealth Enhancement doubled down on its growth strategy with another deal announcement on Wednesday, while EP Wealth and Integrated Partners announced additions of their own in Arizona and Michigan.

Wealth Enhancement adds $476M with Utah-based hybrid RIA

Wealth Enhancement said it agreed to acquire Wealth Advocates, a hybrid RIA in Logan, Utah, with more than $476 million in client assets.

The practice is led by wealth manager John Mickelson and focuses on business owners, retirees and employees or retirees of large local institutions such as the State of Utah, Intermountain Healthcare, Northrop Grumman and Utah State University.

Wealth Advocates has built its business around integrating investment, tax, estate, insurance and income planning into a single strategy for families. Wealth Enhancement chief executive officer Jeff Dekko said Wealth Advocates “embodies the principles of holistic planning” that underpin the firm’s approach as it looks to expand in Utah, which he described as a high-growth market. .

As of Nov. 30, Wealth Enhancement and its advisory and brokerage businesses oversaw $128.8 billion in client assets, including $4.4 billion in brokerage assets. With Wealth Advocates and previously announced transactions, the firm said it expects to exceed $131.7 billion in advisory, trust and brokerage assets.

EP Wealth extends Phoenix presence with father-son duo

Elsewhere, EP Wealth Advisors, which had $40.5 billion in AUM as of September 30, announced it is acquiring Clearview Wealth Advisors, a planning-led firm serving clients across the Pacific Northwest and the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Clearview, run by father-and-son advisory team Michael and Corbin Coursey, adds nearly $218 million in assets under management and will be folded into EP Wealth’s Phoenix region.

The Courseys recently moved to Phoenix to deepen their reach in what they see as a growing, diverse client market.

“As our clients’ financial needs grew more layered, we saw the value in having more specialists support the planning work we do,” Michael said, adding that joining EP will allow them to bring added expertise and capabilities to clients while maintaining a relationship-driven service model.

EP Wealth’s Phoenix presence is overseen by regional directors M.J. Nodilo and Adrian Larson. Mountain and central divisional leader Steve Beals said the Clearview team’s approach to client work “aligns naturally with how our advisors serve people throughout the region.”

The transaction marks EP Wealth’s ninth partnership of 2025. In September, the firm announced back-to-back boosts for its growth plans, with a $500 million debt package followed shortly after by a strategic minority investment from Ares Management.

Michigan team joins Integrated Partners for upmarket ambitions

Meanwhile, Integrated Partners said Morrison Nordmann Wealth Management, a Lansing, Michigan-based team with roughly $200 million in client assets, has joined its RIA platform.

Led by president Matt Nordmann and managing director Scott Morrison, the firm targets high-net-worth families, business owners and other growth-minded clients and is looking to move further upmarket.

“Joining Integrated represents a significant milestone for our firm,” Nordmann said, noting that access to a broader planning infrastructure – which includes a program to partner with CPA professionals – and business-owner solutions should help the team deepen its client relationships and pursue long-term growth.

Integrated, which serves more than $23.8 billion in assets under advisement, said Morrison Nordmann is its second Michigan addition in 2025 and contributes to a milestone year in which the platform brought on $2 billion in new assets.