Deals & Moves: $608M Commonwealth Team Chooses Cetera
Cetera has brought in another Commonwealth Financial Network team, led by Edward Duffy and his Lexington Financial, which manages about $608 million in client assets.
The Braintree, Mass.-based firm also includes advisors John Walsh and William Creesy, as well as support staff.
“Leaving Commonwealth wasn’t something we took lightly after 32 years,” Duffy said in a statement. “We wouldn’t have made a change if Commonwealth hadn’t been acquired, but that effectively made the decision for us.”
Duffy and his fellow advisors had been with Commonwealth for 32 years, according to BrokerCheck.
According to the announcement, the team conducted 6 months of due diligence and chose Cetera partly because it provided uninterrupted access to custody with Fidelity Investments’ National Financial Services.
Cetera Wealth Management President Todd Mackay has been courting Commonwealth advisors since the independent broker/dealer was acquired by LPL Financial last year.
$750M Potomac Joins Concurrent’s RIA Platform
Concurrent Investment Advisors, a Tampa-based hybrid registered investment advisor, has made a minority investment in Potomac Financial Group, an Ashton, Md.-based firm that has left Raymond James to join Concurrent’s RIA platform.
Led by Managing Partner Todd Wike, Potomac Financial has been operating for more than 40 years and oversees more than $750 million in client assets.
Wike is joined by advisors Lanta Evans, Kevin Pinto, Deborah Kelly, Brian Krawiec, Bradley Schell and Gregory Wilkinson, along with their support staff.
The Potomac team evaluated multiple paths to independence before selecting Concurrent to access an expanded technology stack, institutional-grade operational support and practice management resources that enhance the client experience, according to the announcement.
“The best way we can serve our clients is by maximizing the time we spend with them,” Wike said in a statement.
The firm will custody with Fidelity.
AmeriFlex Group Recruits $1.7B in Assets in First Half
The AmeriFlex Group, an advisor-owned hybrid RIA with a minority stake from Cambridge Investment Research, has added 18 advisors representing more than $1.7 billion in total client assets to the platform in the first half of 2026, the Las Vegas-based firm announced.
With additional advisors expected to join before year-end, the firm said it is on pace to reach its previously stated annual growth goal of $3 billion ahead of schedule.
The firm attributes growth to a series of advisor-focused programs designed to address challenges advisors encounter throughout their careers, from growth and client acquisition to succession and eventual transition. Earlier this year, it enhanced its succession platform with AmeriFlex Advisor AI Connection, a matching tool powered by Anthropic’s Claude LLM that identifies advisors approaching succession and connects them with potential buyers.
“We want to remove the obstacles to growth and eventually succession that so many larger institutions and wealth management firms seem to place in advisors’ paths,” Thomas Goodson, founder and chief executive officer of The AmeriFlex Group, said in a statement.
F.L.Putnam Acquires $500M New Hampshire RIA
F.L.Putnam Investment Management Company, a Lynnfield, Mass.-based RIA with over $11 billion in assets under management, has acquired Seascape Capital Management, a Portsmouth, N.H.-based RIA with more than $500 million in AUM.
Founded in 2003 and led by Chief Executive Officer Monica McCarthy, Seascape offers wealth and investment management to high-net-worth individuals and their families.
“The addition of Seascape further strengthens our presence in New Hampshire and deepens our financial planning and investment expertise,” F.L.Putnam CEO Tom Manning said in a statement.
The entire Seascape team, including advisors Andrew Litzerman and Christian (Chrissy) Sullivan, has joined F.L.Putnam, according to the announcement.
Colchester Partners advised Seascape on the move.
Texas-based Victory Bank Acquires 40% Stake in McDonald Capital Management
Victory Bank, a Lubbock, Texas-based bank, has entered the wealth management space with a 40% stake in a fee-only RIA called McDonald Capital Management with more than $350 million in AUM, the bank announced.
The agreement, pending regulatory approval, marks Victory Bank’s entry into wealth management and establishes a strategic alignment between two independently operated West Texas firms, according to the bank.
“Our significant investment in McDonald Capital Management is a testament to both our strategic focus as well as our non-linear approach to building a durable, high-performing, Texas banking enterprise,” Victory Bank co-founder and CEO C. Brett McDowell said in a statement.
Founder Eric McDonald and McDonald Capital Management leadership will hold 60% ownership and direct all investment decisions, client relationships and day-to-day operations, according to the announcement. The firm will also continue operating under the McDonald Capital Management name.
Lubbock-based McDonald Capital Management was established in 1990 with the founding principle to operate exclusively on a fee-only basis, with no commissions, no product sales incentives and a legal fiduciary obligation to act in the best interest of its clients at all times, according to the announcement.
