Advisory M&A News – 9/16/25

Cetera Forms Partnership With Alma Bank

Cetera Investment Services LLC announced a partnership with Alma Bank to develop the bank’s investment program, Alma Wealth Management. Richard Koll, who recently joined as senior vice president and head of Alma Wealth Management, is leading the transition to Cetera.

Before joining Alma, Koll served as Osaic Institutions’ senior vice president of client experience and led the wealth program at Investors Bancorp.

Cetera Financial Institutions, part of Cetera Investment Services, supports the investment programs of more than 450 banks and credit unions. As of June 30, Cetera managed more than $590 billion in assets under administration and $263 billion in assets under management.

Waverly Advisors Acquires Brass Tax Wealth Management

Waverly Advisors LLC, a registered investment adviser based in Birmingham, Alabama, has acquired Brass Tax Wealth Management, a wealth management firm located in Blue Ash, Ohio. The transaction closed on September 12, increasing Waverly’s assets under management by $465 million to a total of approximately $19.9 billion.

The entire Brass Tax team, including its co-founders, Nick Schulte and Leah Schulte, will join Waverly and become Waverly’s ninth office in Ohio. Financial and legal terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Moneta Forms Partnership With Lane Hipple

Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC, a partner-owned, independent registered advisory firm headquartered in St. Louis, has partnered with Lane Hipple Wealth Management Group, an RIA based in Moorestown, New Jersey.

Lane Hipple had approximately $520 million in assets under management as of September 15. Moneta had $42.7 billion in AUM as of the end of 2024.

Tom Lane III, a partner in Lane Hipple, said in a statement that private equity-backed firms had “offered attractive financial terms” for his practice. However, he said in a statement that “those discussions felt transactional—focused more on dollars than on people. It felt like we’d be selling our soul. And that’s not who we are.”

Mission Wealth Merges With Retter Capital Management

Mission Wealth Management L.P. has merged with Retter Capital Management LLC, a boutique registered investment adviser in Melbourne, Florida.

Retter Capital Management is Mission Wealth’s fourth partnership of 2025. Its founder, Eddie Retter, will be Mission Wealth’s 55th equity partner and continue to work in his Melbourne office.

Mission Wealth oversees more than $12.5 billion in client assets under management.

Mai Capital Management Acquires Summit Financial Advisors

Mai Capital Management LLC, a registered investment adviser, acquired Summit Financial Advisors LLC, a San Mateo, California-based firm with approximately $570 million in assets under management.

Rafael Velez, who co-founded the boutique advisory practice in 1998, will become a regional president and senior managing director for Mai. The full Summit team will remain in place and be integrated onto Mai’s platform.

Summit has expertise in serving high-tech executives and entrepreneurs; it specializes in advising on equity-based compensation, concentrated stock portfolios and complex tax strategies.

As of June 30, Mai had nearly $35 billion in total assets, including $31.15 billion in assets under management and $3.84 billion in assets under advisement.

Advisers Marcus Papajohn, Kevin O’Sullivan Join Diversify

Diversify Wealth Management LLC announced that Marcus Papajohn and Kevin O’Sullivan joined their network of financial advisers, bringing with them approximately $170 million in total assets.

Coming from Commonwealth Financial, Papajohn and O’Sullivan run Boston Wealth Advisory Group, an independent, Boston-based practice that focuses on first responders and nurses.

“Many of our clients—nurses, police officers, and firefighters—spend their lives taking care of others. It’s our privilege to take care of them,” Papajohn said, in a statement. “Diversify’s robust support model allows us to do that at the highest level.”

Diversify oversees approximately $10 billion in assets.

Financial Adviser Alex Gunn Joins Third Coast Advisors

Third Coast Advisors, a financial advisory practice in Southeast Texas within the Ameriprise Financial Institutions Group, has brought on financial adviser Alex Gunn, a 16-year industry veteran. Gunn previously managed more than $130 million in client assets at PNC Investments.

“I worked closely with several advisors at Third Coast in my last role and considered them mentors,” Gunn said in a statement. “After they made the move to Ameriprise a few years ago, I watched how their approach to client relationships, financial planning and advice really evolved … and I knew I wanted to be part of it.”

Third Coast Bank’s investment program, Third Coast Advisors, includes a team of five financial advisers who help clients manage more than $600 million in combined brokerage assets.

GFC Planning Joins Sanctuary Wealth’s Network

GFC Planning, an independent registered investment advisory firm based in Woodbury, Minnesota, that has about $120 million in total client assets, has become a partner firm of Sanctuary Wealth Management LLC.

GFC Planning’s founder, Lance Huebner, is a combat-decorated U.S. Army veteran with 15 years of wealth management experience. Before his 11 years at Morgan Stanley, Huebner spent time at Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank after leaving the military.

Sanctuary Wealth, which partners with more than 125 firms, has more than $55 billion in assets on and in transition to its platform.

Prime Capital Financial Brings on 3 Financial Professionals

Prime Capital Financial added two financial advisers and a financial planner.

Ed Callahan, a central Connecticut-based adviser with more than 15 years of experience, previously served as director of financial planning at Edelman Financial Engines. Joanna Cecilia-Fleming, a financial adviser based in White Plains, New York, joins Prime Capital with more than 20 years of experience.

Financial planner Al Burgos, who has more than 25 years of experience and previously built a practice focused on retirement planning, will serve clients from offices in Bethesda, Maryland, and Boca Raton, Florida.