The transaction, which closed at the end of last year, was the business's 11th acquisition of 2023.

Savant Wealth Management, the RIA, has bought FirstWave Financial, an independent RIA with $440 million in assets under management in Satellite Beach, Florida.

The terms of the deal, which closed on December 31, 2023, were not disclosed. 

The deal marked Savant’s 11th acquisition of 2023 and followed three transactions that closed on November 30: Clinton, South Carolina-based Peay & Associates, SwaimBrown Wealth Management, and Alabama-based Bridgeworth Wealth Management. Such deals add to a run of M&A activity in the North American wealth sector, featuring players such as Hightower and Mercer, for example.

The FirstWave Financial deal expands Savant’s national footprint to 39 offices in 15 states. 

Other Savant acquisitions in 2023 included Basil Financial Group in Chicago, Capital Directions in Atlanta, Domani Wealth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Paragon Financial Advisors in Columbia, South Carolina, The Relaxing Retirement Coach in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and R F Book & Associates and Wealth Management Group in Dover, Delaware. As of December 31, Savant had almost $25 billion of assets under management.