Savant Wealth Management expands in New York with Socha acquisition

Savant Wealth Management has added its third New York office, extending a run of dealmaking that by at least one measure has already made it the most acquisitive RIA in the country this year.

The Rockford, Illinois-based firm announced it had partnered with Socha Financial Group, a Corning-based registered investment adviser with roughly $542 million in assets under management.

Founded in 1983 by Nancy Socha, Socha Financial Group built its practice on comprehensive planning for the Corning, New York, region, developing a client base heavily weighted toward employees and retirees of Corning, the multinational specialty manufacturing company perhaps best known for its innovations in laboratory and kitchen glassware.

Michelle Socha Vang, the firm's managing partner and chief operating officer, and fellow managing partner Jolie McCarthy join Savant as member-owners, with the rest of the eight-person team coming aboard as employees.

CEO and chief investment officer Michael Socha is also joining as a member-owner of Savant, though he will not become an employee of the firm.

"Socha's commitment to helping clients navigate every aspect of their financial lives aligns closely with Savant's planning-driven approach," Savant founder and chief executive Brent Brodeski said of the firm's newest partner in New York. "We are especially impressed by the culture they have created and the longstanding client relationships they have supported over the years."

Vang pointed to the additional resources that the partnership unlocks for Socha, as well as access to "technology and specialized expertise to continue providing high-quality service to clients."

McCarthy added that the firm sought "a partner that shared our philosophy and dedication to comprehensive financial planning," citing Savant's "collaborative culture" and breadth of services.

The Socha partnership is Savant's ninth acquisition of 2026, which according to Fidelity's RIA deal monitoring made it the most active buyer in the first half of the year. By Fidelity's tracking, acquired RIA assets nearly doubled on an industrywide basis, even as overall deal count slipped 9% from a year earlier.

Read more: Acquired RIA assets nearly doubled in 2026, Fidelity finds

Fidelity tracked 120 RIA transactions in the first six months of the year involving roughly $343 billion in client assets, with the median acquired firm's size climbing to $630 million from $517 million. Apart from Savant, Beacon Pointe, Wealth Enhancement, Cerity, and Mercer emerged as the busiest acquirers during the first-half frenzy.

Savant's momentum has been building since late March, when the firm closed its largest transaction by assets to date: the Oklahoma-based Exencial Wealth Advisors deal that brought $6 billion in assets under management, alongside a smaller add-on in Melville, New York.

Additional partnerships followed in New Mexico, Oregon and California before Savant closed its first office in Maine with Richard Brothers Financial Advisors on July 1, adding roughly $240 million in assets.

The acquisition pace has coincided with a fresh capital injection into Savant itself. In July, private equity firm Cynosure Partners – Savant's backer for the past decade – moved $270 million of its stake into a continuation vehicle fully funded by Hamilton Lane, the alternative asset manager that oversees roughly $1 trillion.

Savant now manages more than $57 billion, about 25 times its size when Cynosure first invested. Employees remain the firm's largest shareholder, with Cynosure and fellow investor Kelso & Company together holding a combined stake of around 30%.