Wealth Enhancement Group, a Minneapolis-based registered investment advisor backed by private equity, has agreed to acquire RWA Wealth Partners, a Boston-area RIA with approximately $22.46 billion in client assets. The transaction, announced Wednesday, is expected to close in the fourth quarter and will push Wealth Enhancement's total client assets to more than $187.1 billion, including $8.5 billion held by its affiliated RIA, Advisory Solutions Group.
The deal marks a significant departure from Wealth Enhancement's typical growth strategy, which has relied on a steady stream of smaller tuck-in acquisitions. At the end of August, the firm closed on Arbor Capital Management, a $345 million RIA based in Anchorage, Alaska, which expanded its footprint to 41 states. In the second quarter alone, Echelon Partners credited Wealth Enhancement with seven transactions, second only to Stratos Wealth Network's 11.
RWA Wealth Partners was formed in 2023 through the merger of Adviser Investments and Ropes Wealth Advisors, the latter previously a wholly owned subsidiary of the law firm Ropes & Gray. The firm is led by CEO and Chief Economist Michelle Knight, and it is recognized as one of the largest woman-led RIAs in the country. In addition to its Boston headquarters, RWA maintains offices in Newton, Massachusetts; San Francisco and Costa Mesa, California; Chicago; and Traverse City, Michigan.
The centerpiece of the acquisition is RWA Family Office, which will be integrated into Wealth Enhancement's Reserve by Wealth Enhancement service line, designed for families with $25 million or more in investable assets. RWA's family office team, which traces its expertise to its Ropes & Gray lineage, provides trust administration, professional trustee services, estate settlement, and personal and fiduciary tax work. For ultra-high-net-worth households, these services have traditionally been fragmented across advisors, attorneys, and accountants. Wealth Enhancement is betting that wealthy clients will pay for a coordinated team that handles all of these functions under one roof.
“One of the core founding principles of Wealth Enhancement was to provide complex financial planning to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients. RWA's capabilities will strengthen how we meet those needs,” said Jeff Dekko, Wealth Enhancement's CEO. “Its established family office capabilities add depth to how we serve ultra-high-net-worth clients with deep specialization in trusts and estates, tax-aware planning, and the seamless coordination required to turn advice into action.”
Following the close, RWA Family Office will continue to be led by Knight, along with JP Powers, Nicole LaChapelle, and Kristin Fazio. RWA's Private Wealth business, which serves high-net-worth clients, will operate as advisor teams within Wealth Enhancement, with Steve Reder continuing to work with those teams.
“Wealth Enhancement shares our belief that comprehensive wealth management starts with a deep understanding of each client and the life they are working to build across generations,” Knight said. “This human side of wealth has always been central to how we serve families, because behind every financial decision is a set of goals, values, and aspirations.”
The acquisition also marks an exit for Summit Partners, RWA's private equity backer. Wealth Enhancement itself has been the subject of sale speculation, with reports indicating that its private equity owners have been shopping the business. Carlyle Group and Bain Capital were reportedly competing as final bidders, with a valuation of about $7 billion including debt.
The deal comes amid a broad slowdown in RIA M&A activity, but it underscores the continued appetite for family office capabilities among large consolidators. Recent moves by other firms, such as Corient's acquisition of FortCay and Americana Partners' launch of a family office group, highlight the trend. Wealth Enhancement's move also aligns with the growing interest in family office services, as seen in Northwestern Mutual's new unit and Northern Trust's expansion.
