Apella Wealth Continues Buying Spree with $261M RIA Blue Spark

Apella Wealth, a West Hartford, Conn.-based registered investment advisor with about $12.5 billion in assets under management, has expanded further in the Northeast by acquiring Blue Spark Capital Advisors LLC with offices in New York City and Great Barrington, Mass.

Apella, which is backed by minority investor Wealth Partners Capital Group, adds another $261 million AUM through the acquisition, after bringing on roughly $2.6 billion in assets through three separate acquisitions this year.

Blue Spark was owned by founder and CEO Maura Griffin, according to its most recent Form ADV. She started in the firm in 2011 to work with individuals and families, “with particular focus on women navigating life transitions such as divorce, loss of a spouse or partner, job changes and retirement,” according to the announcement.

“Maura has built a highly respected firm grounded in thoughtful advice, strong client relationships, and a commitment to helping women make confident financial decisions, especially through life’s biggest transitions,” Apella CEO Jim Scanlan said in a statement.

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Griffin joins Apella as a partner and senior wealth advisor.

Blue Spark will be Apella’s 30th acquisition since its founding in 2014 and 19th since WPCG took a stake in 2021.

Waverly Advisors Acquires $151M RIA based in Oregon

Waverly Advisors, an acquisitive Birmingham, Ala.-based RIA with $38.4 billion in client assets, has expanded in the Pacific Northwest by acquiring MCS Family Wealth Advisors, a $151 million RIA with offices in Bend and Eugene, Ore.

Waverly is also backed by minority investor WPCG and by HGGC through its Aspire Holdings platform. The firm has added nearly $4 billion in new client assets this year, including, most recently, a $3.1 billion RIA that opened its first New Orleans office. MSC is its 37th acquisition since its minority investors took a stake in 2021.

MSC was founded in 1991 by Michael Stalker, who had majority ownership of the firm through a family trust, according to its most recent Form ADV. The advisors provide financial planning, retirement planning and investment management services to high-net-worth individuals and families, according to the announcement.

“I founded MCS as a fiduciary with the mission to ‘transform money from a source of worry to a resource for fulfillment’,” Stalker said in a statement. “Waverly shares that philosophy and brings broader planning, investment, tax and estate resources to support current and future clients.”

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Stalker and Chief Compliance Officer Jeff Yamada join Waverly as partners and wealth advisors.

FP Transitions advised MCS on the move.

Simplicity Group Acquires Employee-Owned MAIA in Denver

Simplicity Group, a Summit, N.J.-based wealth manager with $14 billion in assets under management, has acquired MAIA Wealth, a Denver-based financial advisory firm with nearly $1 billion in AUM, according to its most recent Form ADV.

As part of the deal, the MAIA Wealth team will now work under the brand name of Simplicity Wealth Advisors: Denver.

“By integrating their regional expertise with Simplicity’s vast national resources, institutional infrastructure, and technology, we are positioning Simplicity Wealth Advisors: Denver for exceptional growth and success,” Simplicity CEO Bruce Donaldson said in a statement.

Chandler te Velde, a senior wealth advisor with MAIA, noted in a statement that the partnership would help the firm enhance its operational infrastructure and client resources.

“We are excited about the new tools and broader investment offerings this collaboration brings to our team and, most importantly, to the families we serve,” she said.

Simplicity is majority-owned by private equity firms SkyKnight Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group, who invested in the firm in 2024.

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Perennial Wealth Partners Launched with Integrated Partners from Hightower Departees

Perennial Wealth Partners has launched as a $500 million, Chicago-based RIA with Integrated Partners, with a team departing from Hightower, the firms announced this week.

Perennial was founded by eight partners and six financial advisors who had been working together at Private Vista, a Hightower affiliate. Some of that team joined Hightower Signature Wealth, the firm’s W-2 channel, earlier this year.

A team led by Principal Advisor, Partner, and Chairman Greg Bogdan, however, split off to join Integrated Partners, an RIA platform with over $30.5 billion in client assets.

According to the announcement, the advisors chose Integrated Partners “to support its wealth management practice and take advantage of the firm’s completely customizable open architecture business environment, including technology, back-office support and CPA partner program.”

The other advisors and partners include Ben Audley, Sam Awad, Kurt Helmich, Michael Im, Mary Beth McLean, Brady Peat, and Carrie Shoener.

As part of its model, Perennial advisors will work alongside CPAs, estate attorneys and other specialists, according to the announcement.

Integrated Partners has, for years, run a CPA Alliance program through which it currently partners with over 250 CPA firms.