The first month of 2023 saw a number of wealth managers complete M&A deals that had been in the works during last year. The largest and arguably most significant was the Tiedemann/Alvarium combination, building a multi-family office powerhouse in the US and Europe.

Carson Wealth added White Ember Financial Planning to its network – a move that builds Carson’s first location in Missouri. It  bought an equity stake in the business, which has $117 million in assets under management and will rebrand as a Carson Wealth office.

The firm’s previous owner and Lawrence's mentor, Greg Hoffman, became affiliated with Carson Coaching in 2006. After Lawrence purchased the firm in 2016, he joined Carson Partners, a network of financial advisors that use Carson’s operations, investment, marketing, technology and compliance support.

Charles Schwab bought The Family Wealth Alliance, a network representing ultra-high net worth clients and wealth managers that was founded in 2003. Financial terms were not disclosed.

FWA is a membership organization that serves the family wealth community including multi-family advisory firms, single family offices, registered investment advisors, professional services firms, and specialty providers. It provides research and educational content, events and leader roundtables, and curated connections. The organization’s founder and CEO, Tom Livergood, president, Rachel Hyman and their entire team joined Schwab as part of the acquisition.

FNZ, the global wealth management platform agreed to acquire YieldX, a US-based provider of fixed income portfolio management technology, optimization services and direct indexing tools for the wealth sector. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Founded by Adam Green and Steve Gross in 2019, YieldX is based in Miami and has an office in New York. It services clients from top-tier wealth and asset managers, to B2C financial services and technology providers operating across the globe. Following the acquisition, Green will join FNZ as CEO of asset management, and Gross will join FNZ as head of asset management strategy.

Mercer Global Advisors, the Denver-based RIA, acquired Empyrion Wealth Management, a business based in Roseville, California. Financial terms were not disclosed. Empyrion focuses on serving the financial needs of family stewards, women in transition, and retirees. President and founder Kimberly Foss founded the firm in 2002; she and her team serve 90 clients with assets under management of approximately $250 million. 

Wynnewood, Pennsylvania-based Rose Glenn, a firm focused on serving ultra-high net worth families with requirements such as wealth transfer and protection, acquired a new parent: AXG Advisors. AXG concentrates on tailor-made insurance and risk mitigation solutions. The acquisition brings a mentor/protégé relationship full circle. AXG co-founder, George Papanier worked under the tutelage of Morey Goldberg – who owns Rose Glenn – prior to founding AXG Advisors with Adam Pauska in 2019. Goldberg will join AXG as a senior advisor.

Prime Capital Investment Advisors, an acquisition-hungry firm partnered with Earth Equity Advisors to give PCIA more coverage in the sustainable, responsible and impact investing (SRI) space. PCIA said the Earth Equity deal would add about 275 households to its client list. The deal added $151 million in assets under management to Kansas-based PCIA.

Emigrant Partners, the capital and advisory firm working with wealth and asset managers, unveiled a strategic minority, non-voting investment in Dakota Wealth Management. Dakota is an independent investment management, wealth and estate planning, and full-service tax planning business based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The business, which was founded in 2018 by Peter Raimondi, has more than $2.5 billion of assets under management across more than 1,700 clients. Emigrant’s stake wasn’t disclosed.

International law firm Withers added Houston private client boutique Dossey & Jones's four-strong team. Dossey & Jones has been representing high net worth clients in the Houston area since 1972, offering clients advice on estate and tax planning, probate matters and corporate and property transactions. The team is led by partners Jim Dossey and Paige Jones who co-manage the practice, and includes senior associate Philip Black and associate Esteban Martinez.

Choreo, an RIA, wrapped up two acquisitions. It completed its previously-announced purchase of Enso Wealth Management, a Petaluma, California-based firm with about $1.8 billion in assets under management. The deal built its presence in Northern California and Nevada. It boosted assets under management or advisement to around $14.5 billion. Choreo also completed its acquisition of Cherry Bekaert Wealth Management, which added approximately $1 billion in assets under management and advisement. Choreo and Cherry Bekaert Advisory formed a strategic partnership. CBWM has approximately $1 billion in assets under management and advisement. The financial terms of both acquisitions were not disclosed.

Argent Financial Group bought Ameris Bank’s wealth management division with around $1 billion in assets under management. The deal, the financial terms of which were not disclosed, raised Argent’s total client assets to more than $40 billion. Ameris Bank focuses on Georgia and Northern Florida.

Tiedemann Group, the US-based multi-family office, wrapped up its acquisition – first announced in 2021 – of London’s Alvarium Investments. It won shareholder approval in November 2022. The combined company now operates as Alvarium Tiedemann Holdings and its Class A common shares and warrants began trading on Nasdaq. The enlarged firm runs or advises on about $60 billion in combined assets.