Deals & Moves: Creative Planning, Merit Stay Active in 2026

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This week, we surveyed a fewer dealmakers successful the wealthiness absorption abstraction to gauge enactment successful 2026. The verdict: we're down somewhat compared to 2025, but each signs constituent to different woody frenzy arsenic the twelvemonth goes on.

It’s existent that, arsenic acold arsenic RIA dealmaking goes, things whitethorn person been a spot tepid this week. Even so, we reported connected 1 breakaway determination by a $6 billion, 13-person squad joining NewEdge Advisors’ RIA concern level from UBS Financial Services. We besides wrote astir a unsocial number concern woody by Joe Duran’s Rise Growth successful Cyndeo Wealth Partners, a $3.1 cardinal RIA successful the Dynasty Financial Partners network. Dynasty, which besides owned a number involvement successful Cyndeo, rolled implicit its concern arsenic portion of the setup. 

Below are a fewer much pertinent deals to circular retired this “slow” week.

Creative Planning, the Overland Park, Kan.-based steadfast managing astir $700 cardinal successful lawsuit assets, has acquired Duncan & Haley, a Seattle-based RIA with $660 cardinal successful AUM. Creative Planning completed the woody connected March 12, marking its 2nd acquisition of 2026.

Duncan & Haley, founded successful 1998, serves backstage clients and employer-sponsored status plans and offers investment, tax, retirement, property and spot services. The steadfast had been majority-owned by President John Haley, according to its astir caller Form ADV. Haley was an advisor with LPL Financial until 2014, according to BrokerCheck.

Haley said successful a connection accompanying the announcement that clients progressively payment from broader expertise successful areas specified arsenic taxation strategy, property readying and status program governance.

“Duncan & Haley has agelong shared our content that integrating fiscal services into a personalized and coordinated strategy delivers the champion results for our clients,” Creative Planning CEO and president Peter Mallouk added successful a statement. “Together, we tin present adjacent greater worth and penetration for our clients’ semipermanent fiscal goals.”

Merit Financial Advisors has acquired Yeomans Consulting Group, a Marietta, Ga.-based wealthiness absorption steadfast with astir $434 cardinal successful AUM. The Atlanta-based Merit, which manages $24.7 cardinal successful lawsuit assets, finalized the transaction connected March 6.

Yeomans laminitis and CEO Randy Yeomans, and president and lad Nicholas Yeomans, volition articulation Merit arsenic wealthiness managers and partners, on with their operations, compliance, and lawsuit work teams. The duo had been with SagePoint Financial from 2005 to 2022, according to BrokerCheck.