Merchant Invests In Sowell Management

Tom Burroughes

5 May 2026

Sowell Management, an RIA, has launched Advisor Partnership Program to provide its new and existing advisors with the resources and capital needed to grow their practices and plan their next steps.

The firm is also working with Merchant, a US investment firm that takes non-controlling steps in financial firms, for a capital infusion to fund APP, enhance its technology and investment management capabilities, and execute an “ambitious M&A strategy,” it said in a statement yesterday.

The terms of the deal with Merchant were not disclosed.

The Merchant partnership is another illustration of the role of private equity money in the North American wealth sector. As separately reported here, private equity-linked deals continued to dominate activity in the first three months of this year, according to ECHELON Partners. PE-involved activity reached 102 transactions in the quarter , driven by a new all-time high of 95 PE-sponsored transactions.

APP provides a “meaningful opportunity” to take part in Sowell’s equity and long-term enterprise value, Sowell said.

The creation of APP also “provides for succession and continuity planning,” Sowell, which was founded in 2001, said.

"As we considered the next chapter of our growth, we wanted to demonstrate our appreciation for our advisors' loyalty and their dedication to serving clients with distinction, while giving them additional incentive to support the ongoing success of the firm," Daryl Seaton, CEO, Sowell Management, said. " We have always treated our advisors as partners in the business, and our new program enables us to formalize that approach."

Sowell has more than $6.5 billion in client assets, achieving that route through organic growth and advisor hires. The firm has built a chief investment office model, added a private wealth arm with Cache River, and formed business development support.

"Scale has become increasingly critical for sustained success in wealth management, and it will become more so as the industry continues to consolidate," Bill Sowell, founder and chief strategy officer of Sowell Management, said.