Merit Financial Advisors Acquires $900M Commonwealth Team

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Merit Financial Advisors, an Alpharetta, Ga.-based hybrid registered concern advisor overseeing $30.1 cardinal successful lawsuit assets, has added different erstwhile Commonwealth Financial Network squad since the LPL Financial acquisition, with a Southern California steadfast overseeing astir $900 cardinal successful lawsuit assets.

The Bridgeway Group is simply a nine-person squad with offices successful Pasadena and Covina, Calif., and is led by partners Matt Dupon, Sean Montgomery and Scott Miller. Dupon and Montgomery volition beryllium wealthiness managers and partners astatine Merit, portion Miller volition go country director, wealthiness manager and partner.

"Bridgeway brings unneurotic galore of the qualities we look for successful a partner: a profoundly client-centric culture, a beardown fiscal readying orientation, an experienced multi-generational squad and a genuine tendency to proceed growing," David Wahlen, enforcement vice president/strategic partners of Merit, said successful a statement.

The Bridgeway squad had been with Commonwealth for astir a twelve years, according to BrokerCheck, and has focused connected fiscal readying and concern management, with a peculiar accent connected status planning.

They are present Merit's sixth squad to articulation since LPL acquired Commonwealth past year, with firms representing astir $4.7 cardinal successful combined lawsuit assets.

"We knew we were going to marque a transition, truthful it made consciousness to measurement backmost and inquire wherever we wanted to spell from here," Dupon said successful a statement. "We person built a beardown concern and privation to support growing, but continuing astatine this gait requires greater infrastructure and support."

Merit, which is backed by Constellation Wealth Capital, had penned 9 deals successful 2026 arsenic it seeks to support expanding nationally. It has besides been progressive among RIAs successful competing for Commonwealth squad members against different broker/dealers specified arsenic Arkadios Capital, Cetera, Kestra Holdings and Raymond James, successful summation to immoderate teams breaking disconnected to commencement their ain firms.

LPL is connected way to person each Commonwealth advisors to its level by the 4th fourth of this year, according to executives speaking during the San Diego-based broker/dealer's second-quarter net call.

With that conversion teed up, CEO Rich Steinmeier said that LPL had much bandwidth to prosecute with and enlistee advisors, further bolstering its ain lawsuit and plus base. In the 2nd quarter, LPL said it booked $25 cardinal successful recruited assets, up 35% from a twelvemonth agone and astir 47% sequentially.

The steadfast has retained Commonwealth assets successful the mid-80% scope and expects to scope its people retention of 90% of lawsuit assets.