Deals & Moves: HB Wealth, Hightower Signature Keep Dealing
HB Wealth, an Atlanta-based fee-only registered investment advisor overseeing $33 billion in client assets, has planted a flag in Austin, Texas, with the acquisition of a family-run RIA with about $700 million in assets under management and a specialization in working with healthcare workers.
Steven Podnos and his daughters, Rachel Podnos O’Leary and Lauren Podnos-Garner, are bringing their Wealth Care firm to HB Wealth, with offices in both Austin and Cocoa Beach, Fla. Steven Podnos founded the firm in 2002 and later brought on his daughters as co-owners, according to the firm’s latest Form ADV.
Before becoming an advisor, Steven Podnos was a physician specializing in pulmonary and critical care and continued to practice in the Air Force Reserve until 2023. His background gave him expertise in giving financial advice to physicians and healthcare professionals.
“Joining HB Wealth … allows us to preserve the independent, fiduciary approach that has always defined our work while expanding the depth of advice and resources we can bring to each relationship,” Steven Podnos said in a statement.
Texas is HB Wealth’s seventh market, alongside Georgia, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The RIA is owned by its employees and minority stakeholders, New Mountain Capital and TPG Growth.
Advisor Growth Strategies advised Wealth Care on the move.
Women-Led Sandy Cove Joins Hightower Signature Wealth
Hightower Advisors announced that Sandy Cove Advisors, a Hingham, Mass.-based wealth management firm with approximately $752 million in AUM, has joined Hightower Signature Wealth, marking the firm’s third external acquisition of 2026.
Sandy Cove, founded by President and Chief Wealth Strategist Deirdre Prescott and led alongside Chief Investment Officer Kate Saltonstall, provides investment management, financial planning and family office services with a focus on family legacy planning and life transitions, including divorce.
“Joining HTSW gives us broader resources to support that work while preserving the personal relationships, values and client-first philosophy that have always defined Sandy Cove,” Prescott said in a statement.
The transaction is expected to close at the end of the third quarter and will bring Hightower Signature Wealth’s AUM to more than $40 billion, the company said.
Hightower is majority-owned by Thomas H. Lee Partners, which first invested in the firm in 2018 and then recapitalized it with other investors in 2020.
Sandy Cove was advised in the transaction by Rick Adler of Red Arrow Capital.
OnePoint BFG Adds Two Teams With $235M in Combined Assets
OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners, a Parsippany, N.J.-based RIA with $18 billion in AUM and backed by Rise Growth Partners, has added two teams that bring a combined $235 million in client assets and expand the acquisitive RIAs presence in Florida and Georgia.
Theodore “Theo” Kuczarski, a wealth management advisor with nearly 20 years of experience, joins OnePoint BFG’s Tampa, Fla., office. Mark Hoffman, from Lanier Asset Management, joins the Atlanta office.
Kuczarski brings about $85 million in AUM, and Hoffman brings about $150 million, the company said.
“My practice has always centered on understanding what clients are trying to accomplish and helping them make thoughtful, confident decisions along the way,” Kuczarski said in a statement. “Joining OnePoint BFG gives me access to an even broader range of expertise and resources that I can bring to those conversations.”
Carson Group Launches Heritage Financial to 1099 Advisor Channel
Carson Group, an Omaha, Neb.-based wealth advisory firm with over $65 billion in assets under management, announced that former Commonwealth Financial Network wealth advisors Nikki Lude and Ciara Stewart have joined Carson’s independent advisor channel to launch Heritage Financial & Investment Services.
The women-led team has about $120 million in AUM from a client base in southeastern Ohio that includes retirees, pre-retirees, small business owners, and women navigating life transitions.
The team prioritized culture, flexibility and the ability to expand the client experience without compromising independence, according to the announcement.
Carson Group works with about 60,000 client families among its advisory network of 165-plus partner offices. The firm is majority-owned by founder Omani Carson, with stakes held by employees and the private equity firm Bain Capital.
