Merrill moves to lift court stay as Dynasty arbitration fight intensifies
What's in store for the future of wirehouse breakaways? Corey Kupfer, Founder and Managing Partner at Kupfer., weighs in on the Merrill Lynch and Dynasty dispute, answering questions around how FINRA jurisdiction and advisor autonomy could shape the future of large-team transitions in a recent article from Andrew Cohen at InvestmentNews.
Read the full story here: https://www.investmentnews.com/regulation-legal-compliance/merrill-moves-to-lift-court-stay-as-dynasty-arbitration-fight-intensifies/265364
RIA Crystal Ball Reveals Creative PE Funding, Mid-Market Mergers and Big Breakaways
As larger wirehouse and national platform teams consider launching their own supported RIAs, infrastructure matters more than ever. In a recent article by Alex Ortolani in WealthManagement.com, Corey Kupfer, Founder and Managing Partner at Kupfer., explains that firms looking to attract these breakaway teams must deliver strong institutional capabilities. That means robust support for retirement accounts, stock plans, and stock plan administration, not just independence.
Read the article here: https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ria-news/ria-crystal-ball-reveals-creative-pe-funding-mid-market-mergers-and-big-breakaways
Hightower adds second chief compliance officer amid broader restructuring
Corey Kupfer, founder and managing partner at Kupfer., connects with Andrew Cohen at InvestmentNews about how private equity involvement has impacted how large-scale RIAs function, pointing to Hightower’s Signature Wealth Launch. “I believe that private equity investors are going to continue to push firms in this direction as single-brand more integrated models create more efficiencies, ease of scale, and enterprise value,” Kupfer says.
To continue reading: https://www.investmentnews.com/ria-news/hightower-adds-second-chief-compliance-officer-amid-broader-restructuring/264810
$40B Arax Partners to 'Turn Up Dial' on Recruiting Breakaway Advisor Teams
In Alex Ortolani’s recent WealthManagement.com article, Corey Kupfer, Founder and Managing Partner at Kupfer., shares his perspective on the competitive landscape for recruiting breakaway advisor teams and the continued momentum around advisor movement.
Read the full story here: https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ria-news/-40b-arax-partners-to-turn-up-dial-on-recruiting-breakaway-advisor-teams
M&A surges in North American financial services, but bubble potential emerging
Corey Kupfer, Founder and Managing Partner at Kupfer Law, dives into how RIA markets are proving continuous resilience from market volatility as M&A remains robust, in a recent Mergermarket piece from Calvin Trice. Corey examines how recent dealmaking momentum may be contributing to emerging industry bubbles and could attract a new wave of buyers in 2026.
Read the article here: https://ionanalytics.com/insights/mergermarket/ma-surges-in-north-american-financial-services-but-bubble-potential-emerging/
Goldman Sachs Ayco adds Creative Planning to growing RIA referral program
In Andrew Cohen’s recent InvestmentNews article, Corey Kupfer, Founder and Managing Partner at Kupfer Law, discusses Goldman Sachs’ expansion of the Ayco referral program and highlights key considerations for participating RIAs.
Corey notes that it is still unclear whether firms will be required to have a custodial relationship with Goldman and emphasizes that both Goldman and participating RIAs should be careful not to breach fiduciary duties as referral programs expand, particularly when it comes to referral fees, revenue sharing and potential quid pro quo use of investment and lending solutions.
Read the full story here: https://www.investmentnews.com/ria-news/goldman-sachs-ayco-adds-creative-planning-to-growing-ria-referral-program/264746
RIA M&A poised for another record year in 2026, DeVoe finds
RIA leaders expect 2026 to mark another year of record-breaking deal activity for mergers & acquisitions, according to RIA M&A consultant DeVoe & Company.
DeVoe’s Annual RIA M&A Outlook released Monday found 54% of RIA leaders expect M&A volume to increase over the next 12 months, while 44% expect deal volume to remain steady. Only 2% of respondents expect deal volume to decline over the next 12 months, and this comes as 2025 was the most active dealmaking year on record for RIA M&A, according to DeVoe.
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Top RIA execs make 9 bold predictions for wealth management in 2026
Mega-mergers between consolidators? An agentic AI revolution? Asset management brands throwing their weight into the space? Several industry heavy hitters make their calls for the year to come.
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'Sudden' succession plan at Focus Financial draws skepticism
In Andrew Cohen's recent InvestmentNews article examining Focus Financial Partners' latest CEO transition, Corey Kupfer, Founder and Managing Partner at Kupfer., shared his perspective on the sudden switch and what the lack of communication around the changeover could signal about the situation.
Read the full article here: https://www.investmentnews.com/ria-news/sudden-succession-plan-at-focus-financial-draws-skepticism/263567
Private equity’s expanding footprint in RIAs: What advisors need to know for 2026
In Steve Randall's latest InvestmentNews article, Corey Kupfer, Founder and Managing Partner at Kupfer., dives into private equity's expanding footprint in RIAs, what advisors should be considering as they plan for a sale, common missteps, and more. For firms looking to remain independent, Corey suggests: “Stay close with their clients, emphasize value propositions that distinguish them from the PE-backed serial acquirers, and stay up with the times in terms of the client experience, technology, and clients’ desires and needs.”
Read the full piece here: https://www.investmentnews.com/practice-management/private-equitys-expanding-footprint-in-rias-what-advisors-need-to-know-for-2026/263666
What Will M&A Look Like in 2026?
How will 2025's record-breaking M&A market shape up in 2026? In Lilly Riddle's recent article in The Daily Upside, Corey Kupfer, Founder and Managing Partner at Kupfer., explores the forces that could reshape dealmaking in 2026 and how private equity will play a role.
Read the full story here: https://www.thedailyupside.com/advisor/practice-management/what-will-ma-look-like-in-2026/
LPL Financial investment in Private Advisor Group strengthens position as M&A force for RIAs
Corey Kupfer, founder and managing partner at Kupfer., shares insight into LPL’s minority ownership stake in PAG with Andrew Cohen at InvestmentNews. “LPL seems to be first focused on investing in firms already on its platform to help retain them in the face of minority and acquisition offers from competitors and PE firms directly. Most firms that have done that have moved to making investments and doing acquisitions of firms off the platform after they locked up their large internal teams,” Kupfer says.
Click here to read more: https://www.investmentnews.com/independent-broker-dealers/private-advisor-group-investment-deepens-lpl-as-ria-ma-force/263159
Shutdown Could Endanger Record Year for RIA Approvals
Corey Kupfer, founder and managing partner at Kupfer., speaks with Alex Ortolani from WealthManagement.com about how the shutdown may result in costly delays for some RIAs who had been preparing to launch. “We have several clients on hold, we have a number of firms we were ready to launch, and most of them are in limbo. Some firms are contorting their plans to make things work,” says Kupfer.
Click here to read more: https://www.wealthmanagement.com/regulation-compliance/shutdown-could-endanger-record-year-for-ria-approvals
Why Hightower Had To Change Course
Corey Kupfer, founding and managing partner at Kupfer., explains to Charles Paikert at Family Wealth Report how Hightower Advisors’ new Signature Wealth division is influencing branding in the RIA industry. “This is the direction in which the industry is moving. PE investors are going to continue to push firms in this direction as single-brand more integrated models create more efficiencies, ease of scale and enterprise value,” says Kupfer.
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CEO change at Edelman Financial Engines shows how private equity is reshaping industry
Corey Kupfer, founder and managing partner at Kupfer., shares insight with Andrew Cohen at InvestmentNews about how Edelman Financial Engines experiments with being on and off markets, looking for growth opportunities, and changing leadership. “The largest organic growth opportunity to EFE is to capture more individual wealth management business from the participants in the many retirement plans it manages. After the recent market feedback on the potential EFE sale, it seems that the PE firms feel like Ralph Haberli is better suited to lead the organic growth-focused strategy at this time,” says Kupfer.
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Why next-gen advisors can be a make-or-break factor in PE dealmaking
Corey Kupfer, founder and managing partner at Kupfer., is featured in Leo Almazora’s InvestmentNews article about next-gen advisors and how they are shaping private equity deal structures. Firms that have next-gen talent are more valuable to most of the buyers, because they want to know that there’ll be somebody that had to continue those client relationships when the founders phase out. You’ve got younger folks who are really doing well building a business and think that they have a lot of upside. Those are the tougher ones to integrate, especially because they’re going to get locked into restricted covenants, non-competes, and non-solicits that’s part of the PE deal,” says Kupfer.
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Inside Hightower's move to rebrand acquired firms, court smaller RIAs
Corey Kupfer, founding and managing partner at Kupfer., shares insight about Hightower’s new Signature Wealth practice with Andrew Cohen at InvestmentNews, noting the correlation between private equity and acquisition models in the RIA industry. “I believe that private equity investors are going to continue to push firms in this direction as single-brand more integrated models create more efficiencies, ease of scale, and enterprise value,” Kupfer says.
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Next-Generation Advisors Want Equity, and Firms Are Responding Creatively
Corey Kupfer, founder and managing partner at Kupfer., connects with Cheryl Winokur Munk at Barron’s, about how firms are responding to changes with next-generation advisors, explaining that no equity structure is created equal. “You really need to speak to someone who can explain the implications and compare the various structures for you,” says Kupfer.
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The Story Behind OpenArc's Decade-Long Journey to Independence
In Alex Ortolani's WealthManagement.com piece about the recent move from OpenArc to go independent, Corey Kupfer, our Founder and Managing Partner, shared his perspective on what it takes for large advisory teams to break free from a wirehouse and what they can expect along the way.
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Charles Schwab describes claims in Merrill’s raiding suit as ‘rank speculation’
Our Founder and Managing Partner, Corey Kupfer, spoke with Citywire's Andrew Foerch about the latest high-profile legal battle brewing between Schwab and Merrill Lynch over a massive advisor departure, with one side alleging corporate raiding and the other dismissing the claims as pure speculation. Corey explained both sides' arguments, his perspective on the suit, and what this could mean for the future of wirehouse breakaways and transitions.
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