It was a busy week for RIA aggregators.
There were a few large moves, including $235 billion multi-family office Cresset bringing on Heather Pelant from Baker Street Advisors, where she had previously managed about $2 billion in client assets. Retirement, wealth and benefits firm OneDigital, in the meantime, announced two RIA acquisitions, bringing its total client assets to over $1.73 billion.
In addition, Beacon Pointe Advisors, a registered investment advisor with $62 billion in client assets, acquired The Financial Advisors, an RIA with $1.2 billion in AUM. But the Newport Beach, Calif.-based aggregator wasn’t done making news: a few days later, it announced that CEO Shannon Eusey had made the “personal decision” to step down from the role to become chair of the board, with President Matt Cooper taking the top job.
Meanwhile, three other active aggregators and recruiters had some deals to tout to round out February—with EP Wealth and Captrust pulling off a hat trick thus far in 2026.
EP Wealth Announces 3rd Deal of 2026
EP Wealth Advisors, a Torrance, Calif.-based fee-only registered investment advisor with over $42.2 billion in assets, has acquired Phoenix-based Thompson Wealth Management, adding over $300 million in AUM to the fee-only registered investment advisor.
Founder and CEO Neal Thompson and his team of six left independent broker/dealer Harbour Investments to join EP Wealth, according to BrokerCheck.
Thompson founded the firm in 2010, specializing in representing federal employees. The firm will now take on the EP Wealth brand name and operate under regional directors M.J. Nodilo and Adrian Larson.
“Neal Thompson and his team bring deep experience supporting federal employees, and we’re excited to help them build on that foundation with the resources, technology and advanced capabilities of our Arizona network,” Ryan Parker, CEO of EP Wealth, said in a statement.
The deal is EP Wealth’s third of the year. The RIA gained another investor in September 2025 when Ares Management purchased a minority stake, joining existing minority shareholder Berkshire Partners.
Captrust Acquires $830M Tampa-based Wealth Unit
Captrust Financial Advisors, a Raleigh, N.C.-based registered investment advisor with more than $1 trillion in assets under advisement and management, has made its third deal of the year for Suncoast Prosperity Advisors.
Suncoast Prosperity is a Tampa-based wealth manager overseeing $830 million in client assets and with additional offices in Sanibel, Fla., and Highlands, N.C.
The group was formerly a division of Suncoast Equity Management, which will continue to operate as an independent investment management firm.
Suncoast Prosperity is led by President Jeff Strouse and includes a team of eight, including senior advisors Beth Neal and Terri Ritchie.
Eric Bailey, Captrust’s principal and southeast regional leader, said in a statement that the group “adds meaningful depth to our private wealth business.”
Prime Capital Adds Advisors Cited in Legal Dispute with Edelman
Prime Capital Financial announced this week that it has brought on two new advisors from Edelman Financial Engines’ financial planning team.
The move had already been highlighted amid allegations of poaching by Edelman, which sought a temporary restraining order. This week, Prime Capital filed an opposition to the TRO request, arguing that the Delaware federal court overseeing the case lacks the jurisdiction to issue it and that Edelman will not suffer irreparable harm if it’s not granted.
Prime Capital, an Overland Park, Kan.-based RIA with over $30 billion in assets, announced this week that it had added Amanda Salyer and Joan Greenspon to its Philadelphia-area team. According to the court filings, the two had managed over 650 clients and $550 million in assets in Edelman’s West Conshohocken, Pa., offices.
Joan Greenspon had been with Fidelity Investments until 2013, after which she moved to Edelman Financial, where she rose to the title of executive director of financial planning, according to BrokerCheck and her LinkedIn. She joined Prime Capital after over 12 years at the RIA.
Greenspon has experience in retirement planning, investments, insurance, tax strategy and estate planning.
Salyer had been with Fidelity for about eight years until 2019, according to BrokerCheck. She then served as a director of financial planning at Edelman Financial for about six years, according to her LinkedIn.
She has experience in financial planning for individuals and families, including investments, tax strategy, estate planning, retirement strategy and long-term priority setting.
In 2024, several former Edelman employees who left for Prime Capital sued their former employer to try to break their contracts.
Since then, Edelman has been pushing back in lawsuits against Prime Capital, including a dispute from early 2025, when Edelman added Prime Capital as a defendant in three ongoing lawsuits, accusing the firm of helping former Edelman advisors steal confidential information and soliciting former clients. Edelman later sued Prime Capital directly, with the latter seeking a pause to the suit as the issues were already being worked through, but the judge has not yet ruled on the case.
Prime Capital has been building its holistic client services, spanning wealth management, family office, retirement plan consulting, tax advisory and financial wellness.
Raymond James Draws Advisors from Commonwealth That Had Overseen $400M
Raymond James has successfully recruited more Commonwealth Financial Network advisors since LPL Financial’s acquisition of the national broker/dealer back in August 2025.
Michael Compiano and Dan Porter will join the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Raymond James after managing more than $400 million with Commonwealth. The two had been with the broker/dealer for nine years at their practice, Two Oaks Wealth in West Des Moines, Iowa, according to BrokerCheck. They had been working in the industry since the 1990s.
The duo offers financial planning, retirement-focused guidance and wealth counseling for individuals and families. They’ll be joined by financial assistant Shelly Kooiker and office manager Meghan Workman, and remain in their West Des Moines location.
“Raymond James gives us the scale, resources and flexibility to support our clients without changing who we are or how we serve them,” Porter said in a statement.
According to Wolfe Research, Raymond James has won over the most Commonwealth advisors in a recruiting push by LPL rivals since the acquisition. Kestra Holdings and Cambridge Investment Research have also drawn a number of advisors in the aftermath.
For its part, LPL executives said on a fourth-quarter earnings call in January that the broker/dealer was retaining larger, high-quality Commonwealth advisors and had secured a commitment for total assets in the low 80% range.
