Advisory M&A News – 4/22/2026

Modern Wealth Management Acquires Brown and Co. 

Modern Wealth Management LLC, a registered investment advisory firm, announced an asset purchase agreement with Brown and Co., a Denver-based wealth management practice overseeing $1 billion in assets under management that was previously affiliated with LPL Financial Holdings Inc. The acquisition gives Modern Wealth its first presence in Colorado.  

Founded in 1988 by Mark Brown, Brown and Co. provides services across investment and retirement planning, tax and estate strategies and philanthropic and charitable planning.  

Brown and Co.’s full eight-person team will transition to Modern Wealth, including Danielle Berz, Justin Cassida and Jonathan Kuiter, who are all leadership team members. Now operating under the Modern Wealth brand, its advisers will experience support in marketing, technology, compliance, human resources and operations.  

The acquisition of Brown and Co. brings Modern Wealth’s total AUM to more than $13 billion, according to the announcement. 

$800M Breakaway Merrill Lynch Team Launches Soteris Private Wealth 

The independent advisory firm Soteris Private Wealth was launched by co-founders and managing partners Joshua Erickson and Rob Montierth, who previously managed a practice at Merrill Lynch in Walnut Creek, California. 

At Merrill Lynch, Erickson and Montierth served more than 100 families, oversaw $800 million in assets under management and focused on comprehensive financial planning and retirement strategies.  

Soteris Private Wealth is supported by Sanctuary Wealth, a platform for independent advisers offering technology, infrastructure support and investment vehicles. The firm has also selected BNY Pershing as its custodian. 

Wealthspire’s Fiducient Advisors to Buy Sellwood Investment Partners 

Wealthspire, an independent wealth management, institutional advisory and business management firm, announced that its subsidiary, Fiducient Advisors has entered into an agreement to acquire Sellwood Investment Partners, a Portland, Oregon-based investment advisory firm that had $11 billion in total assets as of December 31, 2025.  

Founded in 2012, Sellwood Investment Partners provides advisory and discretionary investment management services to endowments, foundations, 529 and 529A plans, retirement plans and high-net-worth individuals.  

Prime Capital Financial Taps WPWealth Partner 

Prime Capital Financial announced the addition of Shane Miller as partner and managing director of the firm’s office in Fort Worth, Texas. Miller brings more than a decade of industry experience and is tasked with growing the firm’s Texas market presence and enhancing its tax-planning capabilities.  

Miller previously was a partner at WPWealth LLP, where he spent more than 10 years advising clients on wealth management, asset protection, insurance planning and long-term financial strategies. In his new role at Prime Capital, Miller will continue to serve clients while also expanding the firm’s broader tax and financial planning platform.  

Miller earned a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurial management from Texas Christian University.