Avantax, which encompasses Blucora’s wealth management business, has agreed to acquire Headquarters Advisory Group, a Parsippany, N.J.–based registered investment advisor with $1.1 billion in assets under management. The firm will join Avantax Planning Partners, Blucora’s in-house RIA seeded by its acquisition of HK Financial Services.
Details of the transaction, expected to close in the third quarter, were not disclosed.
Headquarters Advisory Group was previously affiliated with Avantax Wealth Management, Blucora’s tax-centric independent broker/dealer created from Blucora’s purchases of HD Vest and 1st Global. The team, which includes partners Samuel “Skip” Angelo, John Crowe, and Michele Lee, came over through 1st Global.
Under the deal, Avantax will serve as the team’s business administration and back office, while the advisors, who now affiliate as employees, continue to work with their clients.
“We started building this billion-dollar portfolio about 20 years ago, and recently felt we arrived at a crossroads in our succession planning,” Angelo said.
Blucora’s combined wealth management business, Avantax Wealth Management and Avantax Planning Partners, manages a total $85 billion in assets. Headquarters was one of the many independent firms that moved to Avantax after the acquisition of 1st Global in 2019.
“Headquarters Advisory Group clients who already know Avantax and won’t need to endure repapering or a change in the service experience,” said Louie Rosalez, president of Avantax Planning Partners.
“We want to deliver on the promise to all of our financial professionals that we will help them from the very beginning of affiliating with us, to growing and helping their business flourish, all the way through to the end of the life cycle when they’re looking to transition out,” said Todd Mackay, president of Avantax Wealth Management.
