Published on Wealth Management on April 3, 2026 | Authored by Wealth Management Staff
Deal & Moves: Integrated Partners Lures $609M BXB from Ameriprise
In addition, Cerity Partners adds $1.1B Covenant Partners, EP Wealth pens fourth deal of the year and Savant Wealth splashes out with $6B Exencial.
April 3, 2026
6 Min Read
It’s been another strong week for RIA deals.
The Denver-based $98 billion Mercer Global Advisors announced this week it would acquire Charter Oak Capital Management, a Portsmouth, N.H.-based employee-owned wealth management firm with $1.5 billion in assets under management. The move boosted Mercer’s reach in New England, including clients in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.
On Thursday, NorthRock Partners, a Minneapolis RIA managing over $12 billion in assets that’s part of Sammons Financial Group, acquired Vantage Financial Partners, a $950 million AUM firm with 19 team members, including seven advisors. It was NorthRock’s second acquisition of the year.
Additionally, RFG Advisory, the Birmingham, Ala.-based hybrid RIA platform with more than $7.5 billion in client assets, made its first majority acquisition with platform RIA RVA Wealth Management, a Richmond, Va.-based firm managing over $320 million in client assets.
Related:Q&A: How a 12-Year Succession Plan Helped HB Wealth Grow
Below, learn more about how Integrated Partners lured a $609 million firm from Ameriprise, Cerity Partners added a $1.1 billion firm, EP Wealth made its fourth deal of the year, Savant Wealth hit big with a $6 billion acquisition, and Apella Wealth onboarded a $625 million California firm. Finally, Wealth Enhancement added a $118 million practice into its fold, marking its first office in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Integrated Partners Snags Brick by Brick Wealth from Ameriprise
Integrated Partners, a Boston-based registered investment advisor and office of supervisory jurisdiction of LPL Financial, has added Denver-based Brick by Brick Wealth Advisors, or BXB, to its platform.
BXB, which is led by Kent Zeidman, will bring $609 million in assets under management to Integrated Partners, which now has more than $25 billion in assets under management and advisement. The BXB team left Ameriprise to join the RIA platform known for its CPA Network, which serves as a client referral channel.
BXB specializes in personalized financial planning and investments, and aims to expand its capabilities in the ultra-high-net-worth space, according to an announcement.
“BXB has a clear and ambitious roadmap for growth,” Adrian Duran, vice president and head of advisor recruiting at Integrated Partners, said in a statement.
BXB includes financial advisor Darren Levinthal and next-generation advisors Erica Hinrichs and Cody Bartusiak.
Integrated Partners added Fair Street Advisors and Pisces Wealth earlier this year.
Cerity Partners Merges With Covenant Partners LLC
Cerity Partners, the New York-based RIA with $42.2 billion in assets under management, has added Nashville-based Covenant Partners to the firm, marking Cerity’s entry into the Tennessee market.
Related:Deals & Moves: Wealth Enhancement Lands Investment, Wealth Teams Overseeing $993M
Covenant Partners, founded in 1997, works with high-net-worth individuals and families through its family office approach. It will now operate under the name Cerity Partners.
Covenant co-founder Todd D. Glisson said the merger will allow clients to benefit from Cerity Partners’ wealth management services while maintaining a personalized experience.
Gorman Jones, the bank run by former Captrust M&A lead Rush Benton, represented Covenant Partners in the transaction.
EP Wealth Advisors Buys $418M Divergent Planning
EP Wealth Advisors, the Torrance, Calif.-based fee-only RIA managing $42.2 billion in AUM, has acquired Divergent Planning, a Bethesda, Md.-based firm with $418 million in AUM. The move establishes EP Wealth’s first East Coast region and is its fourth acquisition of 2026.
Divergent was founded in 2010 by Ara Abrahamian and Matt Brock and has seven team members who will join EP Wealth as part of the deal.
EP Wealth Chief M&A Partnership Officer Kyle Miller highlighted the alignment of values between the firms, calling Divergent a strategic fit for the company’s growth.
Related:OneDigital Draws $1.8B Wealth Team from IBD Cetera
Alaris Acquisitions advised Divergent on the transaction.
Savant Wealth Management Partners with Exencial and Heller Wealth
Savant Wealth Management, the Rockford, Il.-based fee-only RIA with $50 billion in AUM and $1.9 billion in AUA, has partnered with Exencial Wealth Advisors and Heller Wealth Management, expanding its national footprint to 66 offices across 26 states.
Exencial, based in Oklahoma, manages $6 billion in AUM, while Heller, based in Melville, N.Y., manages $550 million in AUM.
The move for Excencial will add 110 employees, including 28 advisors. The firm is owned by employees and First United Bank and Trust Company, which held a minority stake, according to its Form ADV.
The deal is also Savant’s largest, coming in second to an acquisition in March for $3.9 billion Heritage Financial.
“Exencial represents a milestone partnership for Savant, while Heller Wealth Management adds depth in an important market,” Brent Brodeski, founder and CEO of Savant, said in a statement.
Team members from both firms will join Savant, with select partners becoming member-owners.
Savant is majority-owned by Brodeski, with minority stakes held by other executives and private equity firms Kelso & Co. and Cynosure Group.
Advisor Growth Strategies facilitated the deals.
Apella Wealth Adds $625M Calif. Firm, Boosting Asset Total to $10.5B
Apella Wealth is acquiring Financial Connections Group, a Calif.-based firm with about $625 million in managed assets, bringing Apella’s total assets to approximately $10.5 billion.
The addition of Financial Connections will expand Apella’s presence on the West Coast, with Apella President Jim Scanlan saying the firm’s “deep financial planning, expertise, strong commitment to client relationships and collaborative culture seamlessly align with Apella’s values.”
Financial Connections is based in Larkspur, Calif., near San Francisco. It was founded in 1994 and is a fee-only fiduciary firm offering financial and retirement planning and investment management services.
Financial Connections also has offices in Berkeley and San Francisco. Partners Jill Hollander, Brian Pon and Kai Bogdanovich will join Apella, along with the rest of the firm’s team. According to Hollander, the firm chose Apella after opting to merge with a larger firm “to expand and enhance the services we offer to our employees and clients.”
Apella Wealth was founded in 2013 and is based in West Hartford, Conn., working with thousands of individual and institutional investors nationwide. The Financial Connections deal is Apella’s 27th overall, and 16th since Wealth Partners Capital Group staked a minority investment in the firm in 2021.
Earlier this year, Apella acquired the wealth division of Virginia-based accounting firm PBMares LLP, which oversaw $1.7 billion in client assets. The move expanded Apella’s footprint into the Mid-Atlantic region with a team of 19 (including 11 advisors). Last fall, Apella acquired the $1 billion firm Park Piedmont Advisors, becoming Apella’s second Midwest and first Chicago office.
Wealth Enhancement Acquires $118M Michigan Team
Wealth Enhancement is adding an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based RIA managing over $118 million in assets.
Parros Financial Group is led by Timothy Parros and includes three advisors and one support staff member, all of whom are making the move to Wealth Enhancement. The hybrid RIA is fiduciary-focused and offers investment management, financial and retirement planning and tax-efficient wealth solutions.
Wealth Enhancement CEO Jeff Dekko lauded Parros Financial for being “grounded in long-term client relationships and thoughtful planning,” while Parros said the move to Wealth Enhancement would bring the “flexibility, infrastructure and strategic alignment necessary” to deliver financial guidance to clients.
Parros will become Wealth Enhancement’s first office in the Ann Arbor market. Wealth Enhancement was founded in 1997 and has over 189 offices nationwide, with about $146.5 billion in client advisory, trust and brokerage assets.
Earlier this year, Wealth Enhancement acquired a six-advisor RIA breakaway team, joining from TFB Advisors, where they’d managed about $1.2 billion in client assets. The same week, Wealth Enhancement acquired The H Group and FocusPoint Solutions, which collectively oversee more than $6.7 billion in client assets.
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