Allworth Financial, the Folsom, Calif.-based registered investment advisor with about $19 billion in assets under advisement, has acquired Tridea Advisors, a local RIA with $341 million in assets, and Capital Point Financial Group, a Glenview, Ill.- and Sarasota, Fla.-based firm with $280 million in assets. They represent Allworth’s first two deals of 2024, and follow the RIA’s seven deals done in 2023.
Terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Scott Hanson, vice chairman and founder of Allworth, said the RIA has a robust pipeline of deals lined up and expects to do twice as many transactions this year as it did last year. It will focus its M&A on the Bay Area and Southern California.
“As these large RIAs continue to get larger, we’re all able to offer a greater degree of services, whether it’s tax planning, tax preparation, estate planning, etc.,” he said. “I think a lot of these smaller advisory firms see the benefits of working with a larger firm.”
Roseville, Calif.-based Tridea decided to sell as part of its long-term succession plan, Hanson said. It was founded in 1976 by Steve Eklund, whose daughter, Allison Scoggin, also works in the business. Her husband, Wesley Scoggin, is also joining.
“We’ve had great success with local partners joining us,” Hanson said. “In Northern California, we’ve got a pretty strong brand, so when a firm joins us, typically the clients are quite pleased about the move. And the additional services we can offer are always a benefit to them as well.”
Capital Point also decided to partner with Allworth for succession planning, with Founder John M. Selzer, Jr. in his early 60s.
When Allworth acquires an RIA, those firms typically come under the Allworth brand, and the deals are structured as a combination of cash and equity. Owners will typically get about 20% to 30% in equity, and the rest in cash. Some 110 advisors currently own equity in the firm.
Hanson and his partner Pat McClain announced plans over the summer to step down from their roles as co-CEOs of Allworth “as part of a natural succession plan.” The firm hired John Bunch, a former Edelman Financial Engines executive, who took on the chief executive role Nov. 6.
“[John’s] really focused on ensuring that all our advisors have a great career at Allworth: they’ve got the training they need, the resources they need and the right kind of compensation,” Hanson said. “He’s been doing a deep dive there to offer some improvements that we could do as an organization to make sure our advisors are well-served.”