The latest mergers, acquisitions and corporate actions in and around the North American wealth management sector.

Parthenon, RSM US Wealth Management
US private equity house Parthenon Capital has agreed to buy RSM US Wealth Management from its parent and will rename it as Choreo when the deal is expected to wrap up in the first quarter of this year. 

The closing date target is February 28, provided that customary conditions are satisfied. The financial terms were not disclosed.

Parthenon bought the business from RSM US, a provider of audit, tax and consulting services focused on the middle market.

Larry Miles, a 20-year wealth management veteran, will become chief executive of Choreo. Dave Scudder, RSM US Wealth Management’s national leader, will move to Choreo with the rest of the wealth management team and become Choreo’s executive vice president, strategic partnerships.

“RSM US Wealth Management is a hidden gem in the industry, and we see exciting potential for growth,” Miles said. “We’re eager to take the company to the next level by investing in the team, technology, recruiting and marketing, as well as expanding into new markets organically and through acquisitions.”

Parthenon has partnered with management teams across the wealth industry over the past decade, including HD Vest, Allworth Financial, Millennium Trust Company, and EdgeCo Holdings, among others. Parthenon intends to grow the business organically and through acquisitions.

EP Wealth Advisors
EP Wealth Advisors, an independent RIA, has acquired a team in Kirkland in the US northwest in the Puget Sound region. 

The move has added to EP Wealth's footprint in the region; it already has operating teams in Seattle, Vancouver, Mt. Vernon and Friday Harbor. The acquisition closed on December 28, and will increase EP Wealth’s assets under management by more than $482 million. 

Financial and legal terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

Led by Todd Flynn and John Buller, the team provide financial and tax planning services. Flynn and Buller will assume the roles of senior vice president and senior wealth advisor, respectively. Two additional advisors and three support staff members will fill out the roster for EP Wealth’s new Washington state office, EP Wealth said in a statement.

The merger marks EP Wealth’s 21st transaction in a five-year period of strategic growth for the firm. Since taking a minority investment from Wealth Partners Capital Group in July 2017, EP Wealth has partnered with firms in California, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Illinois, Texas and Utah. In 2021, it added Homewood Capital Management in Danville, California; Abbas Heydari, a Torrance, California-based advisor; New Focus Financial Group, an RIA with offices in Vancouver, Washington, and San Mateo, California; and Sound Financial Management, with locations in Mt. Vernon and Friday Harbor, Washington.