It was a busy week for RIA aggregators.
There have been a couple of massive strikes, together with $235 billion multi-family workplace Cresset bringing on Heather Pelant from Baker Avenue Advisors, the place she had beforehand managed about $2 billion in shopper belongings. Retirement, wealth and advantages agency OneDigital, within the meantime, introduced two RIA acquisitions, bringing its complete shopper belongings to over $1.73 billion.
As well as, Beacon Pointe Advisors, a registered funding advisor with $62 billion in shopper belongings, acquired The Monetary Advisors, an RIA with $1.2 billion in AUM. However the Newport Seashore, Calif.-based aggregator wasn’t achieved making information: a couple of days later, it introduced that CEO Shannon Eusey had made the “private choice” to step down from the function to grow to be chair of the board, with President Matt Cooper taking the highest job.
In the meantime, three different lively aggregators and recruiters had some offers to tout to spherical out February—with EP Wealth and Captrust pulling off a hat trick up to now in 2026.
EP Wealth Publicizes third Deal of 2026
EP Wealth Advisors, a Torrance, Calif.-based fee-only registered funding advisor with over $42.2 billion in belongings, has acquired Phoenix-based Thompson Wealth Administration, including over $300 million in AUM to the fee-only registered funding advisor.
Founder and CEO Neal Thompson and his workforce of six left unbiased dealer/vendor Harbour Investments to affix EP Wealth, based on BrokerCheck.
Thompson based the agency in 2010, specializing in representing federal workers. The agency will now tackle the EP Wealth model identify and function beneath regional administrators M.J. Nodilo and Adrian Larson.
“Neal Thompson and his workforce deliver deep expertise supporting federal workers, and we’re excited to assist them construct on that basis with the sources, expertise and superior capabilities of our Arizona community,” Ryan Parker, CEO of EP Wealth, mentioned in an announcement.
The deal is EP Wealth’s third of the yr. The RIA gained one other investor in September 2025 when Ares Administration bought a minority stake, becoming a member of current minority shareholder Berkshire Companions.
Captrust Acquires $830M Tampa-based Wealth Unit
Captrust Monetary Advisors, a Raleigh, N.C.-based registered funding advisor with greater than $1 trillion in belongings beneath advisement and administration, has made its third deal of the yr for Suncoast Prosperity Advisors.
Suncoast Prosperity is a Tampa-based wealth supervisor overseeing $830 million in shopper belongings and with further workplaces in Sanibel, Fla., and Highlands, N.C.
The group was previously a division of Suncoast Fairness Administration, which can proceed to function as an unbiased funding administration agency.
Suncoast Prosperity is led by President Jeff Strouse and features a workforce of eight, together with senior advisors Beth Neal and Terri Ritchie.
Eric Bailey, Captrust’s principal and southeast regional chief, mentioned in an announcement that the group “provides significant depth to our non-public wealth enterprise.”
Prime Capital Provides Advisors Cited in Authorized Dispute with Edelman
Prime Capital Monetary introduced this week that it has introduced on two new advisors from Edelman Monetary Engines’ monetary planning workforce.
The transfer had already been highlighted amid allegations of poaching by Edelman, which sought a brief restraining order. This week, Prime Capital filed an opposition to the TRO request, arguing that the Delaware federal courtroom overseeing the case lacks the jurisdiction to difficulty it and that Edelman won’t endure irreparable hurt if it’s not granted.
Prime Capital, an Overland Park, Kan.-based RIA with over $30 billion in belongings, introduced this week that it had added Amanda Salyer and Joan Greenspon to its Philadelphia-area workforce. In response to the courtroom filings, the 2 had managed over 650 purchasers and $550 million in belongings in Edelman’s West Conshohocken, Pa., workplaces.
Joan Greenspon had been with Constancy Investments till 2013, after which she moved to Edelman Monetary, the place she rose to the title of govt director of economic planning, based on BrokerCheck and her LinkedIn. She joined Prime Capital after over 12 years on the RIA.
Greenspon has expertise in retirement planning, investments, insurance coverage, tax technique and property planning.
Salyer had been with Constancy for about eight years till 2019, based on BrokerCheck. She then served as a director of economic planning at Edelman Monetary for about six years, based on her LinkedIn.
She has expertise in monetary planning for people and households, together with investments, tax technique, property planning, retirement technique and long-term precedence setting.
In 2024, a number of former Edelman workers who left for Prime Capital sued their former employer to attempt to break their contracts.
Since then, Edelman has been pushing again in lawsuits in opposition to Prime Capital, together with a dispute from early 2025, when Edelman added Prime Capital as a defendant in three ongoing lawsuits, accusing the agency of serving to former Edelman advisors steal confidential data and soliciting former purchasers. Edelman later sued Prime Capital instantly, with the latter in search of a pause to the swimsuit as the problems had been already being labored by means of, however the choose has not but dominated on the case.
Prime Capital has been constructing its holistic shopper companies, spanning wealth administration, household workplace, retirement plan consulting, tax advisory and monetary wellness.
Raymond James Attracts Advisors from Commonwealth That Had Overseen $400M
Raymond James has efficiently recruited extra Commonwealth Monetary Community advisors since LPL Monetary’s acquisition of the nationwide dealer/vendor again in August 2025.
Michael Compiano and Dan Porter will be a part of the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Raymond James after managing greater than $400 million with Commonwealth. The 2 had been with the dealer/vendor for 9 years at their follow, Two Oaks Wealth in West Des Moines, Iowa, based on BrokerCheck. That they had been working within the trade because the Nineties.
The duo affords monetary planning, retirement-focused steering and wealth counseling for people and households. They’ll be joined by monetary assistant Shelly Kooiker and workplace supervisor Meghan Workman, and stay of their West Des Moines location.
“Raymond James offers us the size, sources and suppleness to help our purchasers with out altering who we’re or how we serve them,” Porter mentioned in an announcement.
In response to Wolfe Analysis, Raymond James has received over probably the most Commonwealth advisors in a recruiting push by LPL rivals because the acquisition. Kestra Holdings and Cambridge Funding Analysis have additionally drawn a variety of advisors within the aftermath.
For its half, LPL executives mentioned on a fourth-quarter earnings name in January that the dealer/vendor was retaining bigger, high-quality Commonwealth advisors and had secured a dedication for complete belongings within the low 80% vary.
