Advisory M&A News – 10/29/2025

Keaton & Sams Enters Partnership With Concurrent

Keaton & Sams Wealth Management, a Georgia-based registered investment adviser, entered a strategic partnership with Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC. The firm, led by founding managing partners Bill Keaton and Alfred Sams, oversees more than $1.3 billion in client assets, bringing Concurrent’s total assets under management to more than $15 billion.

Keaton & Sams, which was previously affiliated with Raymond James & Associates, consists of six professionals.

Concurrent, a multi-custodial registered investment adviser, is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

Ascend Joins Kestra Private Wealth Services’ Platform

Ascend Private Wealth Partners joined the platform of Kestra Private Wealth Services, a registered investment adviser subsidiary of Kestra Financial Inc. Ascend, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, has $866 million in assets under management.

Led by Financial Advisers David Barnett and Ashley Ament, Ascend offers comprehensive financial planning, including investment management and tax planning. The agreement grants Ascend access to Kestra PWS’ suite of offerings, including technology tools, tax planning and investment resources.

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Gallagher Financial, Legacy Investments Become Osaic Affiliates

Gallagher Financial Services, an independent wealth management firm based in St. Paul, Minnesota, has become an affiliate of Osaic Inc. Led by Mark Gallagher, Gallagher Financial has approximately $194 million in client assets under management.

After 31 years with Commonwealth, Gallagher chose to affiliate with Osaic following Commonwealth’s acquisition by LPL Financial.

Meanwhile, Financial Adviser Brian Collins, based in Hurricane, West Virginia, launched a new independent firm, Legacy Investment Advisors & Wealth Management, which is affiliated with Osaic.

Collins, with 37 years of experience, was previously a representative of Primerica, overseeing approximately $540 million in client assets.

Osaic supports approximately 11,000 financial professionals.

Mai Capital Management Acquires Liberty Private Client

Mai Capital Management acquired Liberty Private Client LLC, a Fort Myers, Florida-based registered investment adviser managing $245 million in client assets. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The entire Liberty team transitioned to Mai on October 24. Liberty previously merged with Girard Private Investment Group in 2020.

As of September 30, Mai Capital Management, a Cleveland-based registered investment adviser, had $39.4 billion in total assets, including $34.0 billion in assets under management and $5.4 billion in assets under advisement.

Brian McDonald Joins Dynasty Financial Partners as Senior Adviser

Brian McDonald, an equity compensation plan expert, joined Dynasty Financial Partners as a senior adviser.

McDonald was previously a managing director at Morgan Stanley, where he oversaw workplace financial solutions, equity compensation and retirement benefits, and at Charles Schwab, where his leadership roles included wealth management, stock plan services and financial technology-driven solutions.

This fall, McDonald launched Grantd, an artificial intelligence-driven equity compensation advice platform. Dynasty has agreed to take a minority stake in Grantd.

In a statement, Dynasty Founder and CEO Shirl Penney called McDonald “one of the most respected names in the stock plan space.”

Dynasty, headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, services more than $120 billion for the clients of more than 500 advisers in 55 independent firms. It manages more than $75 billion on its turnkey investment platform.