Waverly Advisors is not just adding assets. Its recent deal activity suggests a buyer focused on geography, planning depth, tax capability and trust services.
Key data points
- Two Waverly successor events in the latest AdvizorPro-visible reviewed window April 29-May 29 2026
- Truwealth Advisors: approximately $3.1 billion public deal size
- Waverly AUM after Truwealth: approximately $34.2 billion
- Waverly’s Truwealth deal marked its 32nd transaction since its 2021 outside investment
- WealthPlans / Cooley added approximately $250 million
- Smithfield Trust Company manages approximately $3 billion
- Waverly reported approximately $35.5 billion in AUM as of May 29, 2026, excluding Smithfield assets
Waverly Advisors is one of the clearest examples of how modern RIA acquirers are using M&A to build more than just size.
In the latest AdvizorPro-visible M&A Activity review, Waverly appeared twice as a successor firm. The first was Truwealth Advisors, a Louisiana-based wealth management business with more than $3 billion in client assets. The second was NBW Capital, a Boston-based firm that appeared in the ADV-W successor data and was linked to an earlier Waverly integration page.
On its own, that would be enough to place Waverly among the most active successor firms in the reviewed AdvizorPro window. But the public record shows Waverly has continued to announce additional activity after the latest connector row. In June 2026, Waverly announced the acquisition of WealthPlans in Frederick, Maryland, alongside the acquisition of its affiliated tax and accounting business, Cooley & Associates, through Waverly Business Services. Later in June, Waverly’s parent company announced the acquisition of Smithfield Trust Company in Pittsburgh.
That pattern is important. Waverly’s M&A activity is not simply a roll-up of advisory AUM. The deals point to four linked strategic priorities: entering or deepening regional markets, adding adviser talent, broadening tax and accounting capability, and expanding trust services.
The Truwealth transaction is the clearest regional example. Waverly said the acquisition established its first Louisiana partnership and added offices in Mandeville and Metairie. Truwealth, founded by Chuck Simmons in 2020, brought a 31-person team and a client base built around financial planning and portfolio management. The transaction increased Waverly’s assets under management to approximately $34.2 billion.
The language around that deal is worth noting. Waverly CEO Justin Russell described Truwealth as a firm grounded in “transparent communication” and “prioritizing clients’ needs.” Simmons positioned the deal as a way to provide “enhanced resources” and “broader planning capabilities.” That is standard M&A language, but it also reflects a key seller concern: clients must feel that the acquiring firm is adding capability without damaging the relationship model that made the seller valuable in the first place.
The June 2026 WealthPlans and Cooley transaction tells a slightly different story. WealthPlans added approximately $250 million in assets, but the more strategic angle may be the affiliated tax and accounting business. Waverly said Waverly Business Services acquired Cooley & Associates, a tax preparation and accounting services firm, as part of the transaction. This matters because planning-led RIAs increasingly want tax-aware wealth management capability, especially for high-net-worth and business-owner clients.
The June Smithfield Trust Company deal takes the capability story even further. Smithfield, based in Pittsburgh, manages approximately $3 billion and offers fiduciary wealth management, trust and estate administration, tax and charitable planning, and estate planning. Waverly described the acquisition as a milestone for its trust service line.
For a buyer, trust capability can be strategically powerful. It supports multi-generational client retention, creates a deeper proposition for complex families, and strengthens the case for why a high-net-worth client should remain inside the platform after the founder or lead adviser exits. In an industry increasingly focused on the great wealth transfer, this is not a peripheral service. It is central to the value proposition.
The transaction count also underlines Waverly’s pace. The Truwealth deal was described as Waverly’s 32nd transaction since accepting an equity investment in December 2021 from Wealth Partners Capital Group and HGGC’s Aspire Holdings platform. WealthPlans / Cooley was described as the 33rd. Smithfield was described as the 34th.
That puts Waverly in a category of acquirer where M&A is not occasional. It is embedded into the growth model.
The challenge for firms like Waverly is integration. Every acquisition adds assets, clients, advisers, systems, workflows and cultural complexity. Deals involving tax and trust capabilities can be especially valuable, but they also create a broader operating model to manage. The acquirer has to preserve local trust while delivering national resources. It has to give advisers more tools without overwhelming them with process. It has to scale without flattening the client experience.
That is why Waverly’s public messaging around culture and client-first alignment matters. In a market crowded with buyers, sellers need to believe that the buyer understands what made their firm successful. For Waverly, the M&A profile is increasingly clear: acquire high-quality regional firms, add specialist capabilities, retain leadership, and broaden the planning platform.
The AdvizorPro data shows Waverly as one of the most active successor firms in the latest reviewed window. The public announcements show a more complete picture: Waverly is building a multi-service wealth platform where M&A supports geography, advice, tax and trust.
For MAA readers, Waverly is one to watch because it represents a new phase of consolidation. The question is no longer whether RIAs will buy other RIAs. The question is which firms can turn repeated acquisition into a coherent client proposition.
