Advisory M&A News – 11/25/24

Jared Copinga joins Prime Capital Financial; MAG Wealth Management acquires Ovation Wealth Advisors; Summit Financial secures $420M with 3 minority stakes.

Jared Copinga Joins Prime Capital Financial 

Prime Capital Financial, formerly Prime Capital Investment Advisors, announced the addition of Salt Lake City-based financial adviser Jared Copinga, who will be Prime Capital Financial’s first adviser in the region. 

Copinga joins Prime Capital Financial from Edelman Financial Engines, where he served as a director of financial planning for nearly a decade, providing personalized financial guidance to his clients.  

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Copinga’s career as a financial adviser started at Waddell & Reed, before he moved to USA Financial as an independent financial adviser and principal account manager. He later worked as an investment consultant at TD Ameritrade. 

I am privileged to join the exceptional team at Prime Capital Financial,” Copinga said in a statement. I look forward to enhancing the services to my existing clients while opening doors to new opportunities with the support of the broader team.” 

MAG Wealth Management Acquires Ovation Wealth Advisors 

MAG Wealth Management announced its acquisition of Ovation Wealth Advisors and its subsequent rebranding to Carson Wealth. The acquisition includes Carson Group taking a 30% equity stake. 

Carson Wealth location will oversee $350 million in assets under management and be the first Carson Wealth-branded location in Minnesota. The team of eight will be led by Founder and Wealth Adviser Jeremy Willner and his son, Partner and Wealth Adviser Hayden Willner. 

“Our journey with Carson Group, from coaching to partnership and now to equity participation, demonstrates the power of aligning with a national brand,” said Jeremy Willner in a statement. “This partnership represents a pivotal moment in our firm’s journey, offering a compelling path for us to overcome growth plateaus and secure our legacy.” 

The newly formed Carson Wealth will maintain its current Minnesota locations in Paynesville, Little Falls and Minneapolis, with plans to grow the firm further. 

Summit Financial Secures $420M With 3 Minority Stakes 

Summit Financial LLC has, through affiliate Summit Growth Partners, taken strategic investments in Southeast Financial Group, Radiance Private Wealth and Silvertree Retirement Planning, bringing its total strategic investments for the year to 16. The partnerships blend upfront cash monetization with equity participation. 

These firms will gain access to Summit’s range of investment solutions and alternative investments. SEFG, Radiance and Silvertree will also benefit from Summit’s professional strategy team, which includes in-house attorneys, tax specialists, financial planning experts and investment management strategists. Additionally, SGP will offer supplemental capital to the firms.  

With these minority, non-controlling stakes, SEFG, Radiance and Silvertree will retain their original leadership and core teams, supporting continuity and autonomy. 

The strategic integration of SEFG, Radiance, and Silvertree into the Summit family not only amplifies our nationwide footprint, but also reinforces our commitment to invest in North Carolina, Wisconsin and the Tri-State area,” Stan Gregor, CEO of Summit Financial Holdings, said in a statement. 

DOL Releases Informational Copies of 2024 Form 5500s

The instruction updates include how to report on pension-linked emergency savings accounts.

The Department of Labor, IRS and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation on Monday released informational copies of the Form 5500 series for 2024.

The instructions on filing highlight changes made for 2024 for Forms 5500 and 5500-SF, the short-form series for small pension and welfare benefit plans. The IRS is set to release paper copies of and online instructions for Form 5500-EZ, which is for one-participant (owner/partner) plans and foreign plans, after January 1, 2025.

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The informational copies are not for filing the annual forms, the agencies noted; plan administrators should monitor efast.dol.gov to know when official electronic versions are available for filing, either with approved vendor software or the EFAST2 website.

The informational sections released Monday include “Changes to Note” for plan administrators, which included those for both Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF:

  • A new plan characteristics code, 2Y, for pension-linked emergency savings accounts created by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022; and
  • Updates that reflect an increase in the maximum civil penalty amount assessable under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s Section 502(c)(2)—for those who fail to file required reports of information—as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015.

Changes implemented for only Form 5500:

  • Defined contribution group plan arrangements may, without needing to attach a list of participant plans, file for an extension of time to file Form 5500; and
  • Modifications to the process of filing an attached Schedule SB reporting expected benefit payment projections when plans are reporting on benefits to be paid in the form of an annuity.

The agencies also noted that, starting on January 1, 2025, an extension request can be made via Form 5558 either electronically through EFAST2 or filed with the IRS using a paper form.

Form 5500s are submitted to the DOL, IRS and PBGC for employee benefit plans to meet filing obligations as stipulated by ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. The forms are used by the agencies for compliance, enforcement and research.

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