Avantax Acquires Summit Wealth Advocates Adding 7-person Team and $330 Million in Total Client Assets to Avantax’s Employee-based Model
DALLAS – (Aug. 22, 2023) – Avantax®, a leader in tax-focused financial planning and wealth management, has acquired Summit Wealth Advocates (Summit), a Minnesota-based wealth management firm with approximately $330 million in total client assets as of June 30, 2023. Prior to the acquisition, Summit was not affiliated with Avantax.
“We are in growth mode, and I was looking for a partner who would give us the potential to grow faster by getting even deeper into client service. That’s exactly what Avantax delivers,” said Bruce Primeau, CPA, CFP®, PFS, who founded Summit in 2010. “As a financial advisor that also has a CPA, taking a tax-intelligent approach to financial planning and wealth management has always been my mantra, so Avantax not only was the perfect tax-focused fit, but they have a 25-year track record of success with this business model and unbelievably deep expertise working with CPAs, accounting firms and their clients.”
While looking for growth partners, Primeau met with Avantax’s operations and client services teams, as well as Avantax leadership who immediately saw the value-creating potential of combining Summit with Avantax.
“Bruce and team share a similar philosophy in serving clients as we do at Avantax – a holistic approach to financial planning with a focus on integrating the implications of tax. When there is a philosophical fit like this, there’s a good shot we are going to create a lot more value together than apart, and that’s the foundation of a great deal for everyone involved,” said Michael Molnar, SVP of Corporate Development, M&A and Succession Planning at Avantax.
Primeau and his team join Avantax’s employee-based model where he and his two advisors will be Financial Planning Consultants, while other members of his team will join Avantax’s employee-based model in various roles.
“We look forward to devoting even more time to clients because we will have access to Avantax’s full staff of administrative and back-office support, as well as proven planning and wealth management systems,” Primeau said. “Avantax was the clear and best choice for me, my firm, my team and our clients.”
The Summit Wealth Advocates acquisition reflects growing interest that external RIAs have in joining Avantax.
“Flexibility is the power of our multiple affiliation model. We create solutions for external RIAs and our independent Financial Professionals to fit whatever route they want to take, from opportunities to accelerate their growth to turnkey succession planning,” said Todd Mackay, President, Avantax Wealth Management®. “Avantax is an attractive home for external RIAs looking for growth. We have decades of experience working in an employee-based RIA model, especially serving large accounting firms looking for a proven planning and wealth management partner.”
As part of the Summit acquisition, Primeau and his team are working with Pontera, a fintech platform that enables advisors to analyze, rebalance, and report on 401(k) accounts and other held-away assets.
Tax and Financial Professionals can learn more about Avantax by clicking here.
About Avantax®
Avantax, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVTA) delivers tax-focused financial planning and wealth management solutions for Financial Professionals, tax professionals and CPA firms, supporting our goal of minimizing clients’ tax burdens through comprehensive tax-focused financial planning. We have two distinct, but related, models within our business: the independent Financial Professional model and the employee-based model. We refer to our independent Financial Professional model as Avantax Wealth Management®. Avantax Wealth Management offers services through its registered broker-dealer, registered investment advisor (RIA), and insurance agency subsidiaries and is a leading U.S. tax-focused independent broker-dealer that works with a nationwide network of Financial Professionals operating as independent contractors. We refer to our employee-based model as Avantax Planning Partners℠. Avantax Planning Partners offers services through its RIA and insurance agency by partnering with CPA firms to provide their consumer and small-business clients with holistic financial planning and advisory services. Collectively, we had $83.8 billion in total client assets as of June 30, 2023. For additional information, please visit us at www.avantax.com. You can also find us on LinkedIn.
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