Two wealth management firms operating within the RFG Advisory community have merged to create WFA Volare, a unified practice managing more than $750 million in client assets across Louisiana and surrounding markets.
The transaction brings together WFA, which carries nearly 30 years of operating history in Louisiana, and Volare Wealth Advisors, a female-founded firm focused on serving women and families navigating financial transitions. The combined entity fields a 16-person team and is backed by RFG Advisory, the Birmingham, Alabama-based hybrid RIA platform.
The deal is the latest move in RFG's expanding capital solutions strategy. Earlier this year, the firm completed its first advisor majority acquisition - RVA Wealth Management in Richmond, Virginia, a retirement-focused planning firm with more than $320 million in assets.
RFG reported its strongest recruiting period in firm history, surpassing $1.5 billion in recruited client assets during the first half of 2026.
Those milestones unfold against a broader industry backdrop: the US RIA market posted its strongest six-month stretch on record for mergers and acquisitions in the first half of 2026, with 225 transactions involving firms holding at least $100 million in assets - a jump of nearly 40 percent from the same period in 2025.
For WFA Volare, the merger's rationale was less about scale and more about shared culture and client continuity.
"This was never about getting bigger. It was about getting better for our clients," said Dany Martin, partner and wealth advisor at WFA Volare. "Chris and her team share the same values we do, and bringing our firms together allows us to preserve the relationships clients value while creating more opportunities to collaborate and serve them together."
The combined firm serves a client base that spans retirees, high-earning professionals, and elite athletes. Chase Crump, identified as Louisiana's only NFLPA Registered Financial Advisor, is part of the WFA Volare team, alongside wealth advisor Brandon Wilson, a former NFL athlete whose background informs the firm's work with professional and collegiate athletes navigating the evolving NIL compensation landscape.
The merger also deepens the firm's geographic reach within Southern Louisiana. Matthew Johnson recently joined as wealth advisor and leads a new office in New Roads, expanding the firm's footprint across the region.
Women-focused financial planning is a core pillar of the newly formed firm. Volare was founded by Chris Wedell, who remains a partner and wealth advisor at WFA Volare and brings the firm's longstanding emphasis on serving women and families to the merged entity.
"Being a female-founded firm has always been an important part of who we are and how we've built Volare," said Wedell. "This partnership gives us an opportunity to build on that foundation by expanding our ability to serve women and families through every stage of their financial lives."
That focus is supported by StrongHer Money, an RFG program designed to equip advisors with resources specifically for serving women clients.
Shannon Spotswood, chief executive of RFG Advisory, framed the transaction as consistent with the firm's broader philosophy.
"The best businesses don't happen by accident. They're built intentionally over time with the right vision, support, and infrastructure," said Spotswood. "Our role is to give advisors the freedom and resources to build a stronger business while protecting what matters most to them and their clients."
RFG, which operates as an independent platform with almost $8 billion in regulatory assets under management according to its most recent SEC Form ADV filing, has positioned itself as a growth partner for independent advisors looking to scale without ceding control of their practices.
The WFA Volare merger reflects a model where two established firms consolidate within a shared platform rather than selling to an outside acquirer — a structure that is gaining traction as RIA M&A activity continues its record-breaking pace in 2026.
The transaction comes as advisors across the independent channel reassess their growth and succession options. As InvestmentNews has reported, the consolidation wave reshaping the registered investment advisor space shows little sign of slowing, with private equity-backed buyers accounting for the majority of strategic acquisitions so far this year.
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