Advisory M&A News – 4/8/2026

Prudential Advisors Adds 2 Advisers With $300M

Prudential Advisors, the retail arm of Prudential Financial Inc., announced the addition of Financial Advisers Keith Loegering and Brian Montalbano.

Loegering has joined the Pacific Financial Group from RBC Wealth Management and will be opening an office in San Rafael, California. Mantalboro, a former Synovus Securities adviser, has joined the Greater Florida Financial Group and will open an office in Port Charlotte, Florida.

Both advisers represent more than $300 million in combined total client assets.

Loegering has been a financial adviser since 1996 and chose Prudential Advisors and Pacific Financial Group for their supported independence model,  technology and investment capabilities, according to a statement from Prudential.

Montalbano, who has been working in the securities and financial services industry since 1995, chose Prudential for its well-respected brand and field support, Prudential stated.

Prudential Financial Inc. is a global financial services provider and premier active global investment manager with approximately $1.6 trillion in assets under management as of December 30, 2025.

Merit Financial Advisors Acquires Strategic Retirement Plans

Merit Financial Advisors, an Atlanta-based financial advisory firm, acquired Strategic Retirement Plans, an independent wealth management firm headquartered in Billings, Montana. SRP has $582 million in assets under management and $4 million in retirement plan assets under advisement and serves nearly 800 households.

SRP, which will rebrand to Merit, was previously affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network. All SRP employees will transition to Merit, including Owners and Financial Advisers Gabe Lapito and Ryan Gomendi, who will join Merit Financial Advisors as area directors, wealth managers and partners. The transaction was finalized on March 27, 2026.

Merit Financial Advisors has 60 offices throughout the U.S. and managed $24.69 billion in assets as of January 1, 2026.

Integrity Adds Perspective Wealth Planning to Wealth Management Platform

Integrity LLC, a life and health insurance distributor and provider of wealth management and retirement planning services, partnered with Perspective Wealth Planning.

Led by Matthew Fox and Mike Tedeschi, Perspective Wealth Planning is a wealth management firm based in Pennsylvania.

Integrity is headquartered in Dallas and its registered investment advisory firm, Integrity Wealth, has more than $52 billion in assets under management and advisement.

Simplicity Acquires Insurance Planners and Advisors Group

The financial planning firm Simplicity Group acquired Insurance Planners and Advisors Group, a Texas-based brokerage general agency and financial planning firm.

Jim Tucker and Mike Tucker will become Simplicity’s newest partners, and their office will rebrand as Simplicity Fort Worth.

Modern Wealth Expands into Florida, Gains $1.2B in Client Assets

Modern Wealth Management, a registered investment adviser, entered an asset purchase agreement with Legacy Wealth Management, a South Florida-based advisory firm managing $1.2 billion in client assets. As part of the transaction, Legacy transitioned from its broker/dealer affiliation with LPL Financial and is now a part of Modern Wealth’s independent RIA.

Legacy was formerly led by Tony DuBose and Joel Palatnik, who joined Modern Wealth as managing directors. The eight-person team includes seven financial advisers who will adopt Modern Wealth’s integrated platform for financial services such as retirement planning, financial planning, investment management and estate planning.

In addition, Legacy’s retirement plan advisory business, Legacy Retirement Plan Advisors, which is led by Val Ortega and manages $300 million in retirement plan assets, will integrate into Modern Wealth’s retirement plan consulting team led by Michelle Cannan.

Rothschild Wealth Partners Joins Forces With Bussenger Financial Group

Rothschild Wealth Partners, a Chicago-based independent wealth management firm with more than $8 billion in client assets, announced a partnership with Bussenger Financial Group, an advisory firm based in Deer Park, Illinois that oversees more than $170 million in client assets.

Bussenger Financial Group is led by Founder Lisa Bussenger and provides retirement planning services, covering investment management, income planning, tax strategies, legacy planning and long-term care considerations.

Wealth Enhancement Adds $118M Parros Financial Group

Wealth Enhancement acquired Parros Financial Group, a hybrid registered investment advisory firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The three-adviser team and one additional support staff member is led by Founder Timothy Parros and managed approximately $118 million in client assets as of November 17, 2025.

The acquisition, which closed on March 31, marks Wealth Enhancement’s first location in the Ann Arbor market.

Wealth Enhancement and its registered investment adviser, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, had $146.4 billion in client assets as of February 28, 2026.

LPL Financial Taps Edward Jones Adviser

LPL Financial LLC announced that Financial Adviser Trey Pope joined its broker/dealer and registered investment adviser platform.

Pope, who served $160 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets, joined LPL from Edward Jones. Based out of Huntsville, Alabama, Pope has more than a decade of industry experience.

There are 32,000 financial advisers at LPL and the wealth management practices of approximately 1,200 financial institutions, servicing and acting as custodian for approximately $2.4 trillion in brokerage and advisory assets.

Hightower Signature Wealth Adds $3.2B Lexington Wealth Management

Hightower Signature Wealth, an independent wealth management firm, acquired Lexington Wealth Management, which had $3.2 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2025.

With this transaction, Hightower will represent more than $29 billion in assets under management across more than 25 locations.

Headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, Lexington Wealth includes a team of 25 professionals, including 16 advisers.

Hightower includes 652 advisers across 33 states, and managed $352 billion in assets as of December 31, 2025.