Captrust Financial Advisors has expanded its Northeast footprint with the acquisition of two affiliated Long Island firms, Compass Advisors and Long Island Wealth Management, which together manage approximately $1.2 billion in client assets. The deal, announced Wednesday, brings seven professionals into the Raleigh, N.C.-based RIA and marks the latest in a series of acquisitions this year.
Both firms are headquartered in Melville, N.Y., and have operated side by side since 2018. Under the terms of the transaction, they will drop their individual names and operate under the Captrust brand, consistent with the firm's previous acquisitions. The combined practices will join Captrust's existing office in Lake Success, N.Y., which currently employs 25 staff members, including 14 financial advisors.
Compass Advisors was founded in 2013 by partners Michael Cuneo and Lauren King, serving both institutional and wealth management clients. Long Island Wealth Management, or LIWM, was established by Jeff Myers in 2006. The founders cited the need to address increasingly complex client needs while preserving a boutique feel as a key motivation for the deal.
“As the needs of our clients grow and become more complex, we decided to align with CAPTRUST who shares our commitment to fiduciary advice and has developed the expansive tools and resources needed to provide exceptional guidance in an ever-changing world,” Cuneo said in a statement.
King highlighted the firm's operational capabilities as a decisive factor during due diligence. “Throughout the due diligence process, CAPTRUST continued to check every box and have been able to provide us extensive operational scale in everything from cyber-security to tax and estate planning all the while allowing our firm to operate as a cohesive team,” she said.
Myers, who spent two decades as an independent advisor, echoed similar sentiments. “After 20 years as an independent advisor, I was looking for an organization that allows me to continue providing fiduciary advice and maintain my individual client relationships,” he said.
Mike Wunderli, managing director and head of mergers and acquisitions at Captrust, framed the transaction around the operational challenges facing growing practices. “As firms grow, maintaining the same level of personalized service while navigating increasing operational complexity becomes more challenging,” Wunderli said. “Michael, Lauren, and Jeff have built practices grounded in independence and deep client relationships.”
Captrust reached a milestone of $1 trillion in total client assets in mid-2024, making it the largest U.S. RIA by combined discretionary and non-discretionary assets. The firm has since accelerated its acquisition strategy. In early February, it announced a deal to acquire Kansas City-based Meritage Portfolio Management, which reported about $2.4 billion in assets and 17 employees, including nine advisors. A week later, it unveiled the acquisition of Alpha Cubed Investments of Orange County, Calif., with approximately $3.8 billion in client assets and a 16-advisor team. In May, Captrust added Stillwater Capital Advisors, a $1.25 billion firm based in Devon, Pa., which became its fifth office in the state.
According to consultancy DeVoe & Company, Captrust completed three transactions in the first quarter alone, matching its full-year total for 2025. DeVoe attributed part of the pickup to Captrust's newly formed M&A team, anchored by the June 2025 hiring of longtime Echelon Partners banker Mike Wunderli to lead its merger strategy. The firm's recent moves also align with broader industry trends, such as Creative Planning's acquisition of RVK and the expected consolidation in the trillion-dollar club.
