Advisory M&A News – 8/12/2026

Merit Financial Advisors Acquires $900M Firm 

Merit Financial Group LLC, an Atlanta-based financial advisory firm, acquired the Bridgeway Group LLC, a Southern California-based wealth management firm with offices in Pasadena, California, and Covina, California.  

Bridgeway oversees $900 million in total assets and is led by Partners Matt Dupon, Sean Montgomery and Scott Miller. The nine-person team provides financial planning and investment management services, with a particular focus on retirement planning. All Bridgeway employees will join Merit. Dupon and Montgomery will serve as wealth manager and partner, while Miller will become area director, wealth manager and partner. 

The Bridgeway Group rebranded as Merit Financial Advisors upon the transaction’s July 31 close. 

Merit managed $30.1 billion in assets as of July 20, including $22.98 billion in advisory assets, $3.32 billion in brokerage assets, $2.65 billion in employer plans and $1.8 billion in employee stock ownership plan assets. 

Cetera Adds $240M Former Commonwealth Advisers 

Cetera Financial Group Inc. added the Tucker Bria Wealth Strategies team, including Financial Advisers Jim Tucker and Patrick Bria, which oversaw $420 million in assets under advisement as of April 30. Tucker Bria Wealth Strategies joined Cetera through Summit Financial Networks, a subsidiary of Cetera Wealth Services LLC.  

The move to Cetera follows more than a decade with Commonwealth Financial Network. According to the announcement, Tucker Bria selected Cetera because the firm could maintain its existing custodian, Fidelity’s  National Financial Services LLC. Another key decision point was Cetera’s flexibility, which allowed Tucker Bria to continue using third-party technology. 

Cetera firms managed approximately $630 billion in assets under administration and $296 billion in assets under management as of March 31.  

Prudential Advisors Taps Ameriprise Adviser 

Prudential Advisors, the wealth management arm of Prudential Financial Inc., added Christopher Grella, a New Jersey-based financial professional with more than 31 years of financial services experience who oversaw more than $110 million in client assets at Ameriprise Financial Inc. Grella joins Prudential Advisors through the firm’s NJ Wealth Partners, headquartered in Holmdel, New Jersey. 

Grella began his career as an investment executive at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. He continued to build his practice over the years at Janney Montgomery Scott and MetLife and as an independent financial adviser. Most recently, Grella was a vice president at Ameriprise Financial.  

Prudential oversaw $1.6 trillion in assets under management as of June 30. 

Focus Financial Network Expands with Employee Benefits Administration 

Focus Financial Network Inc., a $9.5 billion registered investment advisory headquartered in Minneapolis, has added Winchester, Virginia-based Employee Benefits Administration.  

Gayle Canini, the owner of Employee Benefits Administration, will continue serving clients while gaining access to additional planning resources and support through Focus Financial Network.  

Canini, a 45-year financial services veteran, took over her father’s insurance brokerage in the 1980s and transformed it into a wealth management practice serving more than 1,000 clients throughout the Winchester region. 

In July, Financial Adviser Jennifer McDonald joined Canini in the Winchester office, serving Employee Benefits Administration clients through Focus Financial Network. 

J.S. Held Acquires Steeplechase Advisors 

Consulting firm J.S. Held LLC acquired Steeplechase Advisors LLC, a restricting and special situations advisory firm serving middle-market companies.  

The team joins J.S. Held’s strategic advisory practice. The Steeplechase team, now part of J.S. Held, contributes senior experience across in-court and out-of-court engagements. 

Paxel Financial Consulting Joins LPL, Private Advisor Group 

LPL Financial LLC added the financial advisers of Paxel Financial Consulting to LPL’s broker/dealer and registered investment adviser platform. Led by Founder Chin Po, the team joined LPL from Cetera and served approximately $300 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets as of year-end 2025. 

Founded in 1989, Paxel Financial Consulting provides comprehensive guidance that integrates financial planning, estate planning and life planning. The Paxel Financial Consulting team also includes Financial Advisers Young Po, Harry Lee, Jim Xu and Gary Jiang.  

Cetera Adds $3.5 RIA iTP Partners 

Cetera Financial Group Inc. added iTP Partners, which launched an independent registered investment advisory, Blue Horizon Equity Inc., upon joining Cetera. Co-founded by Financial Advisers Bob Sansone and Jeff Hartman, iTP oversaw approximately $3.5 billion in assets under advisement as of April 28. 

iTP joins Cetera from Osaic Inc. and will operate on Cetera’s Blueprint platform. It is headquartered in Pittsford, New York, and has an additional office in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. 

Cetera firms managed approximately $630 billion in assets under administration and $296 billion in assets under management as of March 31.  

Voya Financial Extends Continues Recordkeeping for Baker Botts Law 

Voya Financial Inc. will continue serving as the 401(k) plan recordkeeper for international law firm Baker Botts LLP.  

In the renewed agreement, effective August 1, Voya will continue providing retirement plan services to more than 1,800 participants and supported more than $900 million of the firm’s plan assets as of May. 

Voya, a retirement, employee benefits and investment management company, supports more than 18 million customers.