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Registered investment advisors Cerity Partners and Carson Group have made their first deal announcements of the year, marking an already acquisitive start for wealth managers.
Cerity announced Tuesday that Austin Private Wealth would be joining the RIA, bringing $1.4 billion in assets under management.
APW was founded in 2006 by Raoul Célèrier and Dan Kraus with Ameriprise, but transitioned to an independent RIA in 2019, according to a firm announcement. The RIA, which will take on the Cerity Partners name, works with individuals, families and business owners in areas including retirement planning, tax strategies, cross-border planning and wealth transfer planning.
The deal expands Cerity’s footprint in Austin, which Partner and Head of Partner Development Claire O’Keefe called a “key growth market for the firm” in a statement. The firm now oversees more than $140 billion in client assets across wealth and retirement plan assets.
The deal follows an active 2025 for Cerity, which included the additions of an Albany-based RIA with $4.5 billion in client assets and a Boston-based RIA overseeing $4.1 billion. Cerity is majority-owned by private equity firm Genstar Capital, with a minority ownership stake from Lightyear Capital. Management and employees own the remaining shares of the company.
Investment bank Republic Capital Group advised APW on the deal.
Separately, Omaha, Neb.-based Carson Group announced its first deal of 2026 to follow a record 19 transactions in 2025 with the full acquisition of a partner firm in Minneapolis, Minn.
The former Carson Wealth firm, led by Carson Partner Jeremy Willner, oversees approximately $395 million in advisory and brokerage assets.
Willner began his relationship with Carson in 2005 through its coaching program and became a partner firm in 2018. In 2024, Carson acquired a 30% stake in Willner’s practice, but has now brought it into the full W-2 employee model in an increasingly common move for the RIA among its more than 150 partner firms.
Burt White, CEO of Carson Group, said in a statement that Willner “embodies the entrepreneurial spirit that defines Carson Wealth. He has been part of the Carson community for more than two decades, and his team continues to gain extraordinary momentum as they prepare for the future.”
His practice is co-led by partners and wealth advisors Hayden Willner (Jeremy Willner’s son) and Grant Fuchs, along with Director of Client Services and Operations Kayla Loesch.
As a wholly owned Carson firm, the group will have increased access to talent recruitment, operational support and M&A assistance, according to the announcement. The firm has plans to add advisors in Minneapolis.
Carson is majority-owned by founder and Chairman of the Board Omani Carson (formerly Ron), along with employee shareholders and private equity firm Bain Capital, which acquired a minority stake in 2021.
In November, Carson announced it acquired a Cincinnati-based RIA with $1.4 billion in assets under management. The RIA currently manages over $54 billion in assets.
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