Hightower Facilitates $102 Million Sub-Acquisition For Fairport Wealth, Wealth Enhancement Group Adds $677 Million Bohmer Kilcoyne, Mercer Acquires $1 Billion Goldstein Munger + Associates And Cetera Recruits $3 Billion Burrows Capital Advisors

Deputy Managing Editor, Wealth Solutions Report
This edition of the Weekly Recruitment Roundup covers deals from across the country involving some of the biggest and most active wealth management firms in the industry. We look at Hightower facilitating its fourth sub-acquisition for Fairport Wealth in New Jersey, Wealth Enhancement Group adding Bohmer Kilcoyne Wealth Management in Ohio, Mercer Advisors acquiring Goldstein Munger + Associates in California and Cetera Financial Group recruiting Burrows Capital Advisors via Totus Wealth Management in Texas.
1. Hightower Facilitates $102 Million Sub-Acquisition For Fairport Wealth In New Jersey
Hightower facilitated the sub-acquisition of the Princeton, New Jersey-based firm Optimal Portfolio by Fairport Wealth, a Hightower business based in Cleveland. Yu Oen leads Optimal Portfolio, which has approximately $102 million in assets under management (AUM) and serves approximately 50 high-net-worth clients.

This is the fourth sub-acquisition since 2019 for Fairport Wealth, which now has approximately $3.4 billion in AUM. The Hightower M&A team provided sourcing, valuation, deal structuring, due diligence, legal and regulatory, pre- and post-close integration, and capital resources for the transactions. As of June 30, Hightower had approximately $108.4 billion in AUM, $132.6 billion in assets under administration (AUA) and over 131 advisory businesses nationwide.

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“As I considered my business goals, I recognized that joining Fairport Wealth would give me the best way to grow my practice and ensure continuity of service to our clients well into the future,” Oen said in the press release. “Hightower’s expertise in compliance and operations, coupled with offering a wide array of value-added services, including those for business owners, will enable me to better serve my clients as my practice continues to grow.”
To learn more, view the press release here.
2. Wealth Enhancement Group Adds $677 Million Bohmer Kilcoyne In Ohio
Wealth Enhancement Group acquired the Cincinnati-based hybrid RIA Bohmer Kilcoyne Wealth Management, which oversees more than $677 million in client assets. Michael Bohmer and John Kilcoyne, who each has 26 years of industry experience, lead a team of three advisors and five support staff.

ECHELON Partners served as the M&A financial advisor to Bohmer Kilcoyne for the transaction. This deal brings Wealth Enhancement Group’s total client assets to over $57.3 billion. The company, which has more than 75 offices across the U.S., has conducted at least 10 acquisitions this year including three deals announced within the past month.

“Joining forces will allow us to offload administrative work and spend more time with our clients, which is our number one priority,” Bohmer said in the press release. “We’re also looking forward to leveraging the robust growth programs at Wealth Enhancement Group, helping us to serve even more clients in the years ahead.”
To learn more, view the press release here.
3. Mercer Acquires $1 Billion Goldstein Munger + Associates In California
Mercer Advisors acquired San Ramon, California-based Goldstein Munger + Associates, which serves ultra-high-net-worth clients with tax-aware family office-style strategies and has AUM of approximately $1 billion. Principals Richard Goldstein and Robert Munger are both CPAs in addition to working as financial advisors.

DeVoe and Company advised Goldstein Munger + Associates on M&A for the transaction. Mercer, which is majority owned by private equity firms Oak Hill Capital and Genstar Capital, oversees more than $38 billion in client assets and has more than 80 offices nationwide.

“As Bob and I contemplated the future of our firm, we concluded that we needed to partner with a firm that had the services and professional staff necessary to provide best-in-class service to UHNW clientele, but also be a fully institutionalized business that survives the lifetimes of our clients, their children, their great grandchildren, and generations to come,” Goldstein said in the press release.
To learn more, view the press release here.
4. Cetera Recruits $3 Billion Burrows Capital Advisors Via Totus In Texas
Cetera Financial Group recruited League City, Texas-based Burrows Capital Advisors through an affiliation with The Woodlands, Texas-based Totus Wealth Management. Burrows Capital Advisors, which oversees more than $3 billion in AUA, had been with Hilltop Securities.

The advisory team includes 30-year industry veteran Don Burrows, Clint Auttonberry, Michael Agol and Rolando Villarreal along with Director of Finance Ashley Villarreal. Totus also supplies back-office support to its network partners, which consist of approximately 10 wealth management teams. As of Dec. 31, Cetera had approximately $122 billion in AUM and $353 billion in AUA.

“Our close-knit team has always focused on serving our client needs first and foremost, and as we identified new ways to deliver more sophisticated advice to clients, we recognized the need to upgrade and enhance our core capabilities and resources,” Don Burrows said in the press release. “Cetera Advisors and Totus deliver this upgrade, with dedicated support and programs that will help us continue to grow and provide a more holistic experience for clients.”
To learn more, view the press release here.
Chris Latham, Deputy Managing Editor at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at clatham@wealthsolutionsreport.com
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