2 LPL-Affiliated RIAs Strike Big-Dollar Deals

Two separate RIAs affiliated with LPL Financial (LPLA) said Wednesday that they had agreed to acquire wealth groups with a total of more than $1.5 billion in client assets.

Wealth Enhancement Group, based near Minneapolis, said it was buying HHG & Co. of Darien, Connecticut. Once completed, Wealth Enhancement Group expects to add over $1 billion in client assets to the $4.5 billion it currently has in both brokerage and advisory assets and its RIA arm.

Lightyear Capital — which recently began buying the Advisor Group from AIG and is being sued by its former partners RCS Capital (RCAPQ) and the Cetera Financial Group — owns a majority stake of Wealth Enhancement Group, which it took on in June 2015.

(Lightyear, a private equity group, sold the Cetera Financial Group to RCS Capital for over $1 billion in 2014; RCS Capital recently entered bankruptcy proceedings. )

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, though the parties said they anticipate it will close in the second quarter. George Stapleton, named regional president, will continue to lead HHG.

“We are thrilled to partner with the exceptionally talented HHG team to extend our growth strategy to the northeastern United States,” said Wealth Enhancement Group CEO Jeff Dekko, in a statement.

“This strategic acquisition, coupled with Wealth Enhancement Group’s successful organic growth programs, marks another important step toward our ongoing goal of building a leading national wealth management and financial planning brand,” Dekko added.

The group has clients in more than 40 states and focuses on retail mass affluent and affluent investors. It expanded into the Chicago area in 2013.