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Hightower Acquires $9.5 Billion Flagship Franchise

Tom Burroughes

24 April 2026

Hightower has signed a deal to acquire one of its flagship franchises, The Bahnsen Group, a firm with about $9.5 billion in assets under management. 

The transaction will strengthen Hightower’s ability to invest behind TBG’s differentiated brand, expand its platform, and serve as another hub within Hightower for integrating additional advisory teams, Hightower said in a statement yesterday.

The move comes at a busy time for Chicago-headquartered Hightower. Earlier in April, Hightower Signature Wealth, a new Hightower Advisors division, added Lexington Wealth Management to its embrace. Hightower expects to announce additional acquisitions into the HTSW brand later this quarter.

The new acquisition
Founded in 2015 when David Bahnsen joined Hightower with approximately $600 million in client assets, The Bahnsen Group has grown to nearly $10 billion in AuM today, benefiting from more than 30 per cent annual organic growth over the past decade. TBG, which has 12 locations in markets including Newport Beach, California; New York, NY; Nashville, Tennessee; and Palm Beach, Florida, is supported by a team of about 100 professionals.

TBG serves high net worth individuals, families, and institutions, with a differentiated focus on dividend growth equity investing. The practice is also recognized for its commitment to thought leadership and content creation, producing a broad range of market insights and intellectual capital for clients.

As part of the transaction, TBG will more integrate more deeply with Hightower’s platform across technology, operations, compliance, wealth solutions, and advisor services.

TBG will continue to operate under its established brand while using Hightower’s expanded resources and infrastructure, and will add a “A Hightower Company” to its name and logo.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter. Financial terms weren't disclosed.