Advisory M&A News – 2/4/2026

CAPTRUST Grows in Kansas With Meritage Portfolio Management Acquisition

CAPTRUST Financial Advisors LLC announced Wednesday the December 2025 acquisition of Meritage Portfolio Management Inc., an investment management firm based in Overland Park, Kansas.

Meritage has $2.4 billion in client assets, is led by President and Co-CIO Mark Eveans and Principal Jim Klein, and brings 17 staffers to Captrust, including nine advisers. Meritage provides wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals, as well as retirement plan, endowment and foundation investment management.

“This strategic step gives our team access to a broader network of resources and support that will help us create new opportunities for both our clients and colleagues,”  Eveans said in a statement.

In recent years, CAPTRUST has added several firms in the Kansas City area, including Frontier Wealth Management in 2022. With the addition of the Meritage team, the firm now has 54 employees in Kansas and two locations in metropolitan Kansas City.

Meritage joined CAPTRUST in December 2025 and adopts the CAPTRUST brand. Houlihan Lokey served as Meritage’s financial adviser in the transaction.

Cetera Strengthens RIA Platform With Plains Wealth Management

Cetera Financial Group completed its acquisition of Houston-based Plains Wealth Management, an independent practice overseeing $400 million in assets. The acquisition further expands Cetera’s registered investment advisory model, and Plains Wealth Management joins Cetera after being formerly affiliated with Avantax.

The Plains Wealth Management team has offices in Cypress, Texas, and is led by Ronn Kudlacek, Brad Wilson and Savara McDaniel. Their team joins the Retirement Planning Group, Cetera’s employee-based RIA. The acquisition expands TRPG’s footprint into the Houston market and delivers multiple benefits for the Plains Wealth Management team, including growth opportunities, succession pathways and continued evolution with the Cetera network.

The acquisition represents the latest growth in Cetera’s RIA & Branches channel, which supports independent registered investment advisers and their owned W-2 RIA businesses.

Cetera has 12,000 advisers and institutions and managed $625 billion in assets under administration, as of September 30, 2025, and $284 billion in assets under management.

Merit Financial Advisors Acquires TL Financial Group

Merit Financial Advisors, an Atlanta-based advisory firm specializing in financial planning and wealth management solutions for high-net-worth individuals and families, acquired Southgate, Michigan-based TL Financial Group.

The acquisition provides Merit’s first office in the Detroit metropolitan area, adding approximately $217 million in total assets.

TL provides comprehensive wealth management services for high-net-worth individuals, pre-retirees and retirees, with a strong focus on in-depth financial, estate and tax planning. TL will gain access to growth opportunities, resources and capabilities not previously available through its current broker/dealer, Commonwealth.

Merit has more than 55 offices throughout the U.S. and managed $24.69 billion in assets as of January 1.

More Ritholtz Wealth Management Employees Gain Equity Ownership

Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC, a national registered investment adviser overseeing more than $7.6 billion in assets, adopted an employee-led succession plan, expanding the ranks of shareholders to include co-founders, financial advisers and key company personnel.

As part of the transition, 29 Ritholtz employees will have ownership in the firm, expanding internal equity participation.

Barry Ritholtz, the firm’s co-founder, chairman and CIO, will continue as CIO, while day-to-day leadership of the firm will be shared by four co-founders: CEO Josh Brown, Managing Partners Michael Batnick and Kris Venne, and President Jay Tini.

As the co-founder of the eponymous firm, Barry Ritholtz will continue to play a key role in shaping both its investment philosophy and its public voice, according to the announcement.

3 Advisory Teams Join Beacon Pointe Advisors

Beacon Pointe Advisors announced three recent acquisitions of registered investment advisers, bringing its total firm assets under advisement to $62 billion. It acquired Newton, Massachusetts-based Financial Planning Solutions LLC; Lake Geneva, Wisconsin-based Voyager Wealth Management LLC; and Fort Worth, Texas-based InvestmentHunter Wealth Services.

Financial Planning Solutions is a planning-first fiduciary firm advising approximately $350 million in client assets. The firm serves greater New England with a six-member advisory team, with expertise in pensions, retirement planning and divorce.

Voyager Wealth Management is a four-member fiduciary advisory firm overseeing $229 million in client assets.

InvestmentHunter Wealth Services is a husband-and-wife-owned advisory firm with $153 million in assets under management.

The acquisition of Voyager formally closed on November 15, 2025. The acquisitions of InvestmentHunter and Financial Planning Solutions formally closed on December 31, 2025.

Beacon Pointe Advisors has more than 750 team members across more than 90 offices nationwide.