Wealth Enhancement Group, a rapidly growing Minneapolis-based registered investment advisor with over $94.7 billion in client assets, acquired FinTrust Capital Advisors, a hybrid RIA headquartered in Greenville, S.C. The deal represents WEG's 12th addition this year.
FinTrust’s team of 14 advisors and 13 support staff oversees more than $2.39 billion in client assets and is led by Chief Investment Officer Allen Gillespie. The firm was founded in 2007 and expands WEG’s presence in the Southeast, with additional offices in Anderson, S.C. and Athens, Ga. It also has its own broker/dealer, FinTrust Brokerage Services, which will be shuttered, with its brokerage business moving to LPL Financial.
The firm provides advanced financial planning, investment management and retirement plan services to business owners, professionals and high-net-worth families.
The deal is the latest in a busy year for WEG. Last month, it acquired Levy Wealth Management Group, a Philadelphia-based hybrid RIA with more than $1.3 billion in client assets. In July, WEG purchased Rock House Financial, an independent RIA with $272 million, Peak Financial Services, a $123 million hybrid RIA in Northborough, Mass., and Starfox Financial Services, an RIA with more than $254 million in assets in The Woodlands, Texas.
WEG CEO Jeff Dekko shared his company’s approach to staffing models, strategic decision-making and the importance of balancing acquisitions with strong organic growth on the RIA Edge podcast in June. In addition, Doug Huber, vice president of investment strategy at Wealth Enhancement Group, discussed the firm’s strategies for private market strategies amid the ongoing evolution of alternative investments on the WealthManagement Invest podcast.
Among the most active RIA buyers of the last few years, WEG completed 18 deals in 2023, 14 in 2022 and 16 in 2021.
Founded in 1997, WEG has grown from $4 billion in AUM to over $94 billion since it sold a majority stake to Lightyear Capital in 2015. TA Associates bought out Lightyear Capital’s investment in 2019 when the firm was overseeing around $12 billion. Onex Partners took ownership in 2021, just as the firm approached $40 billion in AUM.
