Kestra’s Bluespring Acquires Whitaker-Myers Wealth Unit
Bluespring Wealth, the Austin, Texas-based hybrid registered investment advisor arm of Kestra Holdings, has acquired the wealth management business of Whitaker-Myers, a Wooster, Ohio-based firm with about $920 million in client assets.
Whitaker-Myers joins Bluespring’s River Valley platform, which was created in July 2026 through the combination of Joule Financial and Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory. That platform now has $2.4 billion in client assets and 44 team members across offices in Ohio, Kentucky and South Carolina.
Whitaker-Myers started as an insurance agency in 1869. The wealth management practice was established about a decade ago by Matthew Harris and John-Mark Young, and has since grown to more than 20 team members.
“Matthew and I started this practice with two advisors, and we’ve grown by bringing talented young advisors in early and developing them into leaders,” said Young, president and co-chief investment officer of Whitaker-Myers, in a statement. “We wanted a partner who would help us keep doing that on a bigger scale, and we found that in Bluespring Wealth and the River Valley team.”
They were also looking for a partner that was committed to developing the next generation of advisors.
This follows news in June that Bluespring launched Bluespring RIA, a new channel that gives partner RIAs the option to access centralized compliance services, along with existing legal, billing and human resources functions. Partner RIAs that join the Bluespring RIA channel will be added to the Bluespring RIA’s Form ADV and take on the Bluespring Wealth brand name. The goal is to give firms a way to hand off back-office compliance work so advisors can focus on clients and growth, said President Pradeep Jayaraman.
Bluespring hit a high mark for acquisitions in 2025 with nine transactions totaling $6 billion in assets. This year, the firm has made several more acquisitions, including a $1.1 billion New Jersey-based practice this May. Most recently, Bluespring acquired Family Wealth Counseling, which was merged into existing Bluespring firm KDI Wealth Management. The combined firm has 16 professionals, including eight advisors, and over $1 billion in client assets.
Private equity firm Stone Point Capital is the majority owner of Bluespring, and Oak Hill Capital also owns a minority stake in the firm.
