Advisory M&A News – 10/1/2025

RFG Advisory Appoints Ed Swenson as President

RFG Advisory LLC, an independent advisers’ platform, appointed Ed Swenson as president. Swenson has served on RFG’s board of directors for the last two years and will serve as a managing partner alongside CEO Shannon Spotswood and Chief Growth Officer Abby Salameh.

“What drew me to RFG is not only its cutting-edge technology and fully integrated growth services, but also its adviser-centric culture,” Swenson said in a statement. “This is a team of A-players, and I am excited to help scale this winning model.”

Previously, Swenson co-founded Dynasty Financial Partners and most recently led RIA solutions at Osaic. RFG Advisory has more than $7 billion in assets under administration.

Former PayPal CEO Bill Harris Launches RIA

Bill Harris, the former CEO of PayPal, launched a digital registered investment adviser, Evergreen Wealth Advisors, on Tuesday. The RIA focuses on investment management and “artificial intelligence-powered financial advice” to affluent and high-net-worth individuals and families.

The firm, headquartered in Miami with offices in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Dallas, offers clients personalized “dynamic portfolios” of hundreds of individual securities and tax-alpha strategies.

Harris previously served as CEO for Intuit and Personal Capital, which later became a subsidiary of Empower.

Evergreen Wealth’s banking services are provided by Coastal Community Bank, according to its website.

Mid Penn Bancorp Acquires Cumberland Advisors

Mid Penn Bancorp Inc. announced an agreement to acquire Cumberland Advisors Inc., a registered investment advisory firm with approximately $3.3 billion new assets under management. Cumberland, based in Sarasota, Florida, recorded a year-to-date annualized revenue of $9.0 million, as of June 30.

The transaction is expected to be earnings-accretive immediately upon closing, which is anticipated to be before the end of the year. Cumberland leadership and team members will join Mid Penn.

Mid Penn, headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with approximately $6 billion in assets, recently announced its acquisition of 1st Colonial Bancorp Inc., a Pennsylvania-based bank holding company.

Cetera’s Retirement Planning Group Acquires HMC Partners

The Retirement Planning Group LLC, Cetera Financial Group’s employee-based registered investment adviser, closed its acquisition of HMC Partners LLC, a firm with approximately $425 million in assets under management as of May 31.

HMC Partners, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, serves more than 500 households. Its co-founders, John Hardy and Gib McEachran, who have joined TRPG, were previously affiliated with Summit Financial Networks, a community within the Cetera Advisor channel.

Cetera firms had more than $590 billion in assets under administration and $263 billion in assets under management as of June 30. TRPG had approximately $3 billion in AUM as of June 30.

Alera Group Gains 2 Kansas-Based Advisers

Alera Group, a financial services firm, added Adam Bettis and Trish Connelly to its growing network of affiliated advisers. Bettis, a senior partner in Alera Group Wealth Services, and Connelly have a practice in Overland Park, Kansas.

Bettis has extensive experience in wealth management and retirement plan services for clients in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Alera Group has $1.5 billion in gross revenue and more than 4,500 employees.

AmeriFlex Group Adds 5 Advisers from Osaic

AmeriFlex Group, a hybrid registered investment advisory firm partnered with Cambridge Investment Research as a broker/dealer, has gained five advisers from Osaic Inc. Jacob Reid and his four-person team at Capital Insight Financial Group are based in Livermore, California.

Capital Insight Financial Group is a transitional wealth planning firm with approximately $354 million of client funds and assets. It supports individual investors, business owners with qualified plans and individuals experiencing transitional life events.

ArrowPoint Wealth Advisors Launches With Osaic

ArrowPoint Wealth Advisors, a new advisory team with $379 million in assets under management, launched in partnership with Osaic Inc.

Mandy Dollar, the firm’s co-founder and CEO, worked previously with MidFirst Bank and serves athletes and clients in the entertainment industry. Jennifer Wallis, chief growth officer, is the firm’s other co-founder. The team has offices in Oklahoma City and Edmond, Oklahoma.

Dollar and Wallis said in the announcement that they chose Osaic for its technology, resources and support network. ArrowPoint is women- and Native American-owned.

Osaic supports approximately 11,000 financial professionals.