Advisory M&A News – 8/5/24

Bluespring Wealth Partners Brings on $1.35B Advisory

Bluespring Wealth Partners, which is acquiring independent registered investment advisers and hybrid wealth management firms, has acquired Rodgers & Associates Wealth Advisers, a wealth and retirement planning firm based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The deal marks Bluespring’s 27th partner firm in five years of operations and adds $1.35 billion in client assets and more than 1,000 household clients to the aggregator.

Rodgers & Associates was founded by husband-and-wife partners Rick and Jessica Rodgers, who will make the move over to Bluespring. They will be joined by Sandra Skrodinsky, president and chief compliance officer; Susan Connors, director of operations; Patrick Carney, manager of adviser services; and Clint Krushinsky, business development specialist, as part of a 25-employee shop.

Rodgers & Associates joined Bluespring for factors including “marketing, other back-office resources, and educational tools on succession planning,” according to an announcement.

“From the beginning, we were drawn to Bluespring’s emphasis on growth at scale while staying true to the core of our business,” said Rick Rodgers in a statement.

Sentinel Advisory Group Chooses Commonwealth as New Firm Partner

Sentinel Advisory Group of Middleton, Wisconsin, has joined the Commonwealth Financial Network of independent financial advisers.

Sentinel joins from Northwestern Mutual, bringing its $300 million in client assets to Commonwealth’s advisory network.

Nine advisers will make the move, including Brent Cashore, Peter Shulla and Nathan Keeling, all co-founders, and adviser Cary Grunder.

“Of all seven of the potential partner firms we explored, only Commonwealth checked every box,” said Shulla in a statement. “We needed unified technology systems that could both ease how we do business now and enable us to extend our range of services over time while leveling up our client experience.”

Cashore noted that the move will help Sentinel “evolve faster with the breadth of tools available to us” and “develop our next generation of advisers and pursue an aggressive growth path for our practice.”

Walstien Leaves UBS for Ameriprise

Ameriprise Financial has brought on financial adviser Michael Walstien from UBS Financial Services. Walstien will join with $150 million in client assets and continue to be based in Wayzata, Minnesota, according to an announcement.

The adviser said in the announcement he made the move for client service support, technology and culture.

“Ameriprise invests in technology, tools and services that make it more efficient for advisers to run their businesses, while offering a streamlined digital experience for clients,” said Walstien.

He is joined by team member Kaeli Williams, a client service associate, and they are being supported by Ameriprise Complex Director Adam Lukens and Ameriprise Regional Vice President Mitch Doren. Walstien had been with UBS for more than 17 years.