$156B RIA Hightower keeps deal train chugging with Wisconsin-based FPIS

Hightower is maintaining the momentum in its inorganic growth strategy as it completes a deal with another billion dollar-plus boutique RIA firm.

The still-growing RIA giant announced on Tuesday that it's making a strategic investment in Financial Planning and Information Services, a wealth management firm based in De Pere, Wisconsin, with over $1.1 billion in AUM. The deal will allow FPIS to retain its identity while benefiting from Hightower's expanded resources and services.

Founded in 1985 by Lon Mishler, FPIS is currently led by president and CEO Ryan Wempe, along with vice presidents Dan Budinger and Rachel Brown. The firm recently promoted Brock Becker and Carl Ekstrom to partner roles, part of its ongoing growth strategy. FPIS’s 16-member team will continue to focus on its personalized approach to wealth management, catering to the Green Bay community.

“FPIS built its practice on a core principle that is still its backbone nearly 40 years later,” Bob Oros, chairman and CEO of Hightower, said in a statement Tuesday. “Their leaders’ decision to join Hightower highlights our shared dedication to community and the importance of developing long-term, generational wealth relationships.”

“We have always operated on the belief that long-term wealth relationships should be built on hard work, communication, and a broad range of services,” added Wempe, CEO of FPIS. “We’re pleased to join the Hightower team, gaining access to new services and tools that will help us better guide our clients through the triumphs and challenges of life.”

FPIS is the fifth firm Hightower has acquired this year, counting its recent deal for a majority stake in NEPC, which reportedly manages more than $1.66 trillion in assets, and a September strategic investment in Florida-based Charles D. Hyman & Company, which boasts $2.3 billion in AUM and a three-decade history.

The Chicago-based wealth management firm provides a wide array of resources for advisors, including a national in-house trust company and a CPA subsidiary offering advanced tax planning. That feeds into Hightower’s broader recruitment and retention strategy of creating an environment where advisors can focus on clients’ evolving needs – a must in the scorching hot climate of M&A in the wealth industry today.

As of June 30, Hightower managed approximately $156 billion in assets across 140 advisory teams.