Summit, Savvy both announce dual RIA recruitments with $1B on the move

Summit, Savvy both announce dual RIA recruitments with $1B on the move
Firms announce new advisor teams, adding more than $500M each to their expanding AUM totals.
AUG 05, 2026

Summit Financial, the New Jersey-based registered investment advisor, has added approximately $520 million in client assets through partnerships with two independent advisory firms bringing its total partnership count to 65 and extending its geographic footprint into Georgia and Oregon for the first time.

Kamal Capital Group, founded in 1984 and headquartered in Michigan with additional offices in Georgia, manages roughly $170 million in assets and has built its practice around serving aviation professionals, corporate executives, and ultra-high-net-worth families. M Group Investment Advisor, based in Florida with offices in Oregon and Washington, oversees approximately $350 million and has carved out a niche working with non-union construction companies engaged on government projects.

The two additions are the latest in a sustained growth push for Summit, which grew its assets under management sixfold in 2025 to reach $24 billion and was recognized by both Forbes/SHOOK and Barron's among the top RIA firms in the country that year.

Stan Gregor, chairman and CEO of Summit Financial, said the two firms reflect what the platform looks for in a prospective partner. "Partnerships like these reflect the strength of Summit's platform and our ability to support firms with distinct identities," he said in a statement.

Keith Soltis, a chartered financial consultant and head of growth and business development at Summit, said the firm focuses on the reasoning behind an advisor's growth ambitions rather than the numbers alone. The firm is particularly attentive to the "intentionality behind their growth" rather than advisors "scaling for scale's sake," he said — a distinction that has become a meaningful differentiator as the RIA consolidation wave intensifies across the industry.

Savvy expands AI-powered network

Meanwhile, Savvy Advisors has brought two independent registered investment advisors onto its platform in a pair of additions that together add approximately $550 million in assets under management, underscoring the firm's push to attract breakaway and independent advisors with a technology-first pitch.

The New York-based RIA affiliated with Savvy Wealth announced the additions of Blue Barn Wealth, based in Orem, Utah, and Paragon Private Wealth Management, based in Franklin, Tennessee, on August 5, 2026. The moves come as Savvy reports it has recruited more than $4 billion in assets in 2026 alone, pushing its total AUM past $8 billion; a four-fold increase year-over-year.

Blue Barn Wealth manages approximately $300 million in assets across more than 220 client households and several corporate 401(k) plans, serving clients both domestically and internationally.

The firm, founded in 1994 and reestablished under its current ownership in 2017, is led by Jeff Brimhall, PhD, CFP, CFA. It offers comprehensive wealth management services including tax planning, retirement planning, charitable giving strategies, estate planning coordination and alternative investments.

Paragon Private Wealth Management, founded by Allen Buckley, CFP, manages roughly $250 million in assets and specializes in serving business owners and professionals including attorneys, physicians and practice owners.

The firm integrates investment management, financial planning, tax planning and tax preparation under one roof. Buckley began his career in financial services in 2003 before moving to the independent RIA model in 2009.

Savvy's growth trajectory reflects a broader trend among independent advisors seeking platforms that pair practice autonomy with enterprise-grade operations.

The firm markets itself as an AI-native, multi-custodial RIA, positioning its technology as a tool to automate advisor workflows — including financial planning scenario modeling, tax analysis and investment review — rather than replace advisor judgment. The company notes that its AI is not designed to interact directly with retail clients or provide client-facing investment decisions.

"The advisors joining our network are very entrepreneurial-minded, and every one of them decided that the best way to scale a great practice is to plug into a team and infrastructure they don't have to manage themselves," said Ritik Malhotra, founder and CEO of Savvy Wealth.

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