Deals & Moves: Kestra Gets $866M Merrill Breakaway

Group 1: Service Expansion via Acquisition - Prime Capital Financial announced the acquisition of a Texas-based tax advisory firm to establish a Prime Capital Tax Advisory division [1] - VestGen Wealth Partners launched a retirement plan advice division through the acquisition of a former Osaic team specializing in retirement plans [1] Group 2: Traditional Footprint Expansion - AlphaCore Wealth Advisory acquired a registered investment advisor (RIA) with $1.5 billion in assets under management (AUM) located in Rockville, Maryland [2] - Concurrent, a 1099 affiliation platform, brought on a team from Raymond James with $1.3 billion in AUM based in Savannah and Sea Island, Georgia [2] Group 3: Advisor Movements - Kestra Private Wealth Services recruited a large team from Bank of America's Merrill, led by David Barnett and Ashley Ament, to form Ascend Private Wealth Partners, focusing on investment management and tax planning [4][5] - Cetera Financial Group hired advisor Frank Mezzanotte and his $126 million FDM Wealth Management practice to its Cetera Financial Institutions division [7]