CW Advisors, the Boston-based registered investment advisor owned by Osaic, has struck a deal to acquire Catalina Capital Group, a fee-only wealth management firm headquartered in Torrance, California. The transaction, announced Tuesday, gives CWA its first foothold in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and extends its push into the Western U.S. market.
Catalina Capital manages roughly $655 million in client assets, according to the announcement. The firm specializes in wealth and investment management, tax planning, financial and retirement planning, and estate planning services, serving a mix of high-net-worth individuals and institutional accounts.
Scott Dell'Orfano, chief executive of CW Advisors, said the Catalina team's client-first approach made it a natural fit. "We are excited to welcome the Catalina Capital Group team to CW Advisors," Dell'Orfano said, citing the firm's "commitment to delivering exceptional wealth management solutions and track record of client growth."
Chris Frantz, managing director of Catalina, noted that the partnership will allow his firm to "expand our offering to clients, leveraging resources and expertise across the platform." Frantz previously worked as an investment advisor at Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, according to his SEC disclosure record.
The acquisition is the latest in a string of deals for CWA, which has been one of the more active buyers in the RIA space over the past two years. Since its acquisition by Osaic in June 2023, the firm has continued to pursue inorganic growth, adding nearly 20 firms before the Osaic deal closed. In February 2024, CWA acquired Rovin Capital, a fee-only RIA with offices in Lehi, Utah, and Mesa, Arizona, bringing $849 million in combined assets under management and advisement. That deal gave CWA its first Utah office and a second Arizona location.
With the Catalina addition, CWA now operates 24 offices nationwide, including two in California. The firm's assets under management have grown from approximately $13 billion at the time of Osaic's acquisition to more than $16 billion today, serving high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.
CW Advisors was founded in 2009 as Congress Wealth Management, initially focusing on acquiring fee-only RIAs. Under Osaic's ownership, the firm has retained its name, client service model, and operational independence, continuing to operate as a standalone RIA. This structure has allowed CWA to pursue acquisitions without disrupting existing client relationships.
A key part of CWA's appeal to both Osaic and the firms it acquires is its custodial relationships. The firm maintains referral arrangements with Schwab and Fidelity, two of the largest custodians in the U.S. wealth management industry, which generate a steady stream of new client introductions for qualified RIA custody partners.
The deal comes amid a broader wave of consolidation in the RIA space, as larger platforms like Osaic, Corient, and others seek to expand their geographic footprint and asset bases. For context, Corient recently expanded into Oklahoma with a $7.8 billion acquisition of Capital Advisors, while two Merrill Lynch teams recently moved to Wells Fargo FiNet with $1.4 billion in assets, and Osaic and Raymond James also gained teams.
