Large Private Equity Houses Woo Wealth Enhancement In Bidding Contest – Report

Editorial Staff

27 July 2026

Private equity big hitters Bain Capital and Carlyle are battling to win a takeover of US-based Wealth Enhancement in a deal that would be valued at $7 billion, according to the Financial Times at the weekend.

Assuming that there is an agreement at the end of any bidding contest, it would represent another turn on the M&A theme that has been present in the North American wealth sector in recent years – as analyzed here. And it also underscores the importance of private equity as a motor of such transactions.

Wealth Enhancement was founded over 25 years ago and has more than $100 billion in assets under management. It is headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota, and its CEO is Jeff Dekko.

The firm has itself grown via M&A – and organically. In May, Wealth Enhancement acquired Wisdom Rock Financial Advisory Group, adding more than $500 million in client assets to Steward Partners' platform in its M&A channel. In the same month, it acquired $318 AuM firm Lake Tahoe Wealth Management.

Wealth Enhancement declined to comment to Family Wealth Report. The other firms had not responded for requests for comment at the time of going to press.