Oakeson Steiner has left OneDigital Investment Advisors to bring $1.2 billion in assets to the Carson Partners platform, while Lido Advisors acquired a second New England shop and Snowden Lane established its 15th office in Boca Raton, Fla.
Meanwhile, Buckingham Strategic Wealth, Savvy Advisors and Cetera’s Wilde Wealth Management Group all added new advisors.
In earlier news, Edelman Financial Engines acquired a $1.5 billion retirement consulting firm, Sage Advisory Services took on minority investor Kudu Investment Management and tru Independence hired staff to support its new East Coast headquarters.
Oakeson Steiner Takes $1.2B Practice to Carson Group
Oakeson Steiner Wealth & Retirement is taking its RIA from OneDigital Investment Advisors to Carson Group, joining a platform of more than 140 partner firms.
With a focus on retirement and investment advice, Oakeson Steiner was founded by Doug Oakeson and Jack Steiner in 1994 and is currently led by owner and President Josh Yost. The team of 13 includes nine advisors managing some $1.2 billion from offices in Hastings, Neb., about two hours west of Lincoln.
Citing Carson’s “cutting-edge technology and resources” as reasons behind the move, Yost had been seeking a platform offering marketing and compliance support.
Founded in 1983 by CEO Ron Carson, Omaha-based Carson Group collectively manages around $31 billion in assets for more than 48,000 families across its partner practices and 48 Carson Wealth locations.
Lido Advisors Adds 2nd New England Office
Los Angeles-based Lido Advisors, with $18.9 billion in managed assets, acquired Claybrook Capital, a Boston-based RIA overseeing close to $300 million for businesses and wealthy households.
Claybrook comprises Senior Wealth Advisor Jerry Nigro and Managing Director Virginia Aaron. The duo worked together at Goldman Sachs, UBS and Robertson Stephens before launching the firm in 2017.
"This partnership with Lido allows us to deepen our wealth management offering along with providing our clients access to Lido's Family Office investment solutions,” Nigro said in a statement.
The acquisition brings the firm to a total of 31 locations in 18 states and the District of Columbia.
Snowden Lane to Establish 15th Office in Boca Raton
New York City-based Snowden Lane Partners has opened three new offices and recruited 12 advisors in 2023. The latest additions include a pair of advisors in Boca Raton, Fla., who will establish Snowden Lane’s 15th office location.
Making the move from $570 million AUM Laidlaw Wealth Management, Ron Zuckerman and John Paul McManus will operate under Snowden Lane as Zuckerman McManus Wealth Advisory Group. Zuckerman will serve as partner and managing director, while McManus joins as vice president and private wealth advisor.
The Boca Raton office will represent Snowden’s second Florida location and third new office this year.
A hybrid RIA and broker/dealer found in 2011, Snowden Lane has grown its semi-independent, W-2 partnership model rapidly—primarily through the recruitment of bank and wirehouse advisors.
Based in New York City, Snowden Lane employs 84 advisors overseeing around $11 billion in advisory and brokerage assets, as well as 63 additional staff members.
Buckingham Strategic Wealth Buys Mesa Financial Group
Buckingham Strategic Wealth has picked up Mesa Financial Group, an $85 million AUM Atlanta practice with a single advisor and around 130 clients.
Expected to close in the first quarter of next year, advisor Alfredo Mesa’s firm has been affiliated with Buckingham through its turnkey asset management platform, Buckingham Strategic Partners, since leaving Woodbury Financial Services in 2012. Mesa described the new arrangement as “a natural progression” along the firm’s growth trajectory and said he looks forward to tapping Buckingham’s support, staff and resources.
Based in St. Louis, Mo., Buckingham comprises more than 50 offices across 27 states, managing around $24 billion in client assets. One of the largest firms on the Focus Financial platform, Buckingham is expected to be one of only a few remaining firms following consolidation of more than 90 partners into a handful of its largest in the wake of Focus’ sale to private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.
Savvy Advisors Picks Up $425M Advisor from Empower
Savvy Advisors, a technology-focused RIA developing an “all-in-one” advisory platform, has announced its seventh recruit in six months. Jacob DuBose, who previously managed around $425 million for some 300 private client accounts at Empower (formerly Personal Capital), is joining Savvy as a principal wealth manager in the Denver metro area.
“I wanted to go independent in a smart way, by selecting a firm with a comprehensive infrastructure,” he said, noting that Savvy’s W-2 partnership model will allow him to operate his practice independently.
Savvy Wealth was incorporated in July 2021 and raised venture capital funds before officially launching its affiliated RIA the following summer. By the end of the year, the firm had attracted half a dozen advisors and more than $100 million in assets. After pausing in early 2023 to assess progress and roll out a new direct indexing tool and AI-powered platform called Co-Pilot, Savvy leaned into recruitment and has attracted advisors managing billions at their former firms.
CEO Ritik Malhotra has declined to share how many of those assets will ultimately transfer over to Savvy, as some negotiations are still underway, but he expects the firm to surpass $500 million in early 2024.
Cetera Office Adds J.P. Morgan Advisor
Wilde Wealth Management Group, an Arizona firm affiliated with Cetera Advisors, has added its fifth recruit of the year.
Stepping into the role of managing partner in charge of Wilde’s new office in Phoenix suburb Surprise, Nicholas Bair oversaw close to $148 million in assets in his previous post as a senior vice president at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, where he spent more than 15 years.
Bair said he was drawn to “the culture of freedom, flexibility and specialized support” offered through the Cetera partnership.
Cetera Advisors is one of the independent broker/dealers under Cetera Financial Group, which has a total $375 billion in assets under administration across more than 9,000 financial advisors.
