RFG Advisory Makes First Majority Acquisition of Platform RIA

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RFG Advisory, the Birmingham, Ala.-based hybrid RIA level with much than $7.5 cardinal successful lawsuit assets, has made its archetypal bulk acquisition with level RIA RVA Wealth Management, a Richmond, Va.-based steadfast managing implicit $320 cardinal successful lawsuit assets. 

According to RFG leadership, the transaction to bring RVA connected arsenic the firm's archetypal W-2 advisory is not a displacement successful strategy toward that model, but a effect to a petition from steadfast laminitis David Koren to exit the concern with a succession program successful spot for his next-generation partner, Caleb Vaughan.

“This is successful effect to a request from 1 of our clients, not arsenic portion of what I would generalize arsenic an aggregator arbitrage play,” RFG Advisory President Ed Swenson said. “This is much aligned with our halfway strategy, our halfway business, which is supporting advisors who are independent.”

RVA Wealth, which focuses connected status and education-driven planning, volition support its marque sanction aft the transaction and different proceed to run connected the RFG platform. 

Koren founded RVA successful 2018 and near Kestra Advisory Services to articulation RFG’s level successful 2022, according to BrokerCheck. Vaughan joined successful 2019 aft starting his vocation arsenic a paraplanner astatine DMJ Wealth Advisors, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Swenson said determination are immoderate administrative changes and moves the steadfast made to make the W-2 channel, but that different the rapidly increasing RIA level sees itself arsenic a enactment for RVA successful its maturation plans.

“This is purely successful effect to 1 of our large advisors wanting to merchantability the practice,” Swenson said. “Operationally, we are going to physique up a small spot much to enactment this squad . ... but Caleb has been with the concern for implicit 9 years. He’s precise talented. We consciousness precise comfy with him arsenic the person going forward.” 

Swenson said that RFG Advisory, portion it has the superior to instrumentality bulk stakes arsenic it did with RVA, is firmly committed to the level model. While the steadfast is unfastened to akin arrangements for its astir 80 existing level teams arsenic advisors attack retirement, it volition not actively marketplace W-2 options oregon prosecute outer W-2 acquisitions.

“I deliberation that the absorption connected W-2 [in the RIA space] is chiefly a effect from backstage equity firms and fiscal sponsors trying to fig retired a mode to bash fiscal engineering,” Swenson said. “We judge the maturation portion of the marketplace is autarkic RIAs and supporting autarkic RIAs.”