Accelerated Wealth Partners (AWP), a growth-equity firm focused on registered investment advisors, has named Josh Bronfman as managing director of M&A and investments. Bronfman arrives from Focus Financial Partners, where he spent five years on the M&A and relationship management team, handling business development, deal execution, and strategic advice for partner firms pursuing inorganic growth. His resume also includes stints in private equity at Brookfield Asset Management and in private wealth management strategy at Goldman Sachs. He holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business.
The hire comes as AWP steps up its dealmaking following a $200 million capital commitment from J.C. Flowers & Co. In his new role, Bronfman will lead AWP's M&A and investment activity, support partner firms on acquisitions and advisor recruiting, manage the firm's associate team, and oversee reporting, analytics, and technology initiatives.
A deliberate hiring strategy
Eric Amar, founder and CEO of AWP, framed the appointment as part of a broader effort to build a team with complementary skills rather than simply scaling headcount. "Scale in this business is built on talent, and lasting talent is built on shared values," Amar said. "Josh has spent years inside the RIA M&A engine at Focus, he understands what makes these firms exceptional, and he shares the values that define how we work with founders."
AWP's strategy centers on a concentrated portfolio of high-conviction RIA investments. Amar has said he prefers helping five firms grow from $2 billion to $10 billion in assets rather than hovering alongside 30. The firm distinguishes itself from larger aggregators by focusing on tech-enabled organic growth alongside disciplined deal execution.
To date, AWP has made two investments: a March 2026 stake in RIA Advisors, a Houston-based firm overseeing $1.6 billion in assets under management, and a May 2026 minority investment in Brooklyn Fi, an advisory firm specializing in clients with complex equity compensation needs.
Timing the M&A wave
The hire comes as the broader RIA M&A market runs at a record pace. According to DeVoe & Company, M&A activity in the wealth management space rose 18% year-over-year in 2025 and has increased a further 18% to 24% so far in 2026, with private equity involved in approximately 89% of transactions over the past two years. ECHELON Partners reports that deal volume across the sector rose 27.3% year-over-year in 2025, the fastest growth rate in the past decade outside 2021, with 466 announced transactions representing a 17.8% compound annual growth rate since 2020.
For AWP, which positions itself as a growth equity investor rather than a traditional aggregator, adding depth to its deal team is a practical necessity as it moves from launch phase to active portfolio-building. Bronfman said the decision to join AWP came down to its philosophy on founder partnership. "What drew me to AWP is the conviction to partner with great founders and work alongside them as they build," he said. "I've seen how powerful the right combination of organic growth and M&A is for a firm, and I'm excited to work with Eric, Andrew and the team to help our partners through their next phase of growth."
Building the infrastructure behind the deals
Beyond M&A execution, Bronfman's mandate includes technology and analytics, signaling that AWP is building the operational infrastructure to scale its support for partner firms, not just its deal pipeline. The firm has described its model as resting on three pillars: tech-enabled organic growth, institutional-grade M&A execution, and preserving the independent culture of the RIAs it backs.
That combination is increasingly the differentiating pitch in a market where capital alone is no longer scarce. As some new RIAs shun private equity, AWP is leaning into it. Meanwhile, market volatility and investor sentiment continue to shape the environment for dealmaking. InvestmentNews has tracked how RIA valuations and M&A incentives are evolving as deal volume sets new quarterly records, with Q1 2026 alone registering $1.67 trillion in transactions, according to Echelon Partners' most recent data.
Bronfman's arrival also comes as other firms make key hires to bolster their teams. The broader trend of AI-driven fraud and technology adoption is also reshaping how RIAs operate, making AWP's focus on tech-enabled growth particularly timely.
