Creative Planning, a national registered investment advisor with $210 billion in assets under management, has acquired CTB Financial Services, a Minneapolis-based registered investment advisor specializing in tax planning with about $240 million in assets under management as of June 30.
Creative Planning CEO Peter Mallouk called it a “strategic acquisition,” meant to broaden the firm’s range of services and geographical reach. The deal will bring more tax-focused investment strategies to Creative Planning’s client base.
“By consolidating taxes, retirement, spending, and investments within a single framework, we've seen how blended financial management can yield superior results,” said Jonathan Liang, senior advisor at CTB Financial and now a Partner at Creative Planning, in a statement. “Now, we integrate these achievements with the extensive resources of Creative Planning, amplifying our capacity to bring exceptional value to our clients."
Creative Planning, which was founded in 1983, has been an aggressive acquirer of other RIA firms since private equity firm General Atlantic took a minority stake in 2020. In 2022, the firm completed 12 more acquisitions worth around $15 billion in total assets, including the purchase of $5 billion AUM Wipfli in August.
In June, the firm acquired BerganKDV, a professional services company in Bloomington, Minn., with 600 employees, $2.5 billion in client assets and multiple business lines.