Cerity Partners Merges with Austin Private Wealth, Adding $1.4B AUM & RIA Scale

The merger of Cerity Partners and Austin Private Wealth is consistent with Cerity’s ongoing strategy to scale via acquisitive expansion into key regional markets. By integrating a $1.4 billion AUM RIA in Austin—a fast-growing metro—the firm boosts both market reach and local advisory depth. Cerity now has over $140 billion in AUM, giving it increasingly powerful leverage in attracting talent, institutional deals, and high-net-worth clients.

For Austin Private Wealth (APW), the merger offers scale, access to advanced service capabilities, and infrastructure that may have been difficult to build organically—particularly in cross-border planning, institutional-quality investment solutions, and multigenerational planning. This suggests the deal is not just about geographic footprint, but about capability arbitrage and product/service depth.

Republic Capital Group’s role as exclusive advisor highlights the specialization in M&A advisory within the wealth/RIA sector; such advisors add value through deal sourcing, valuation, negotiation, and integration planning. In this case, their guidance appears to have secured a favorable outcome for APW—reflected in their statements.

Strategically, this expansion into Austin may foreshadow further competitive pressure in Texas, including from regional wealth platforms, private banks, and major national RIAs. Cerity’s ownership structure—majority via private equity (Genstar Capital) with minority stake held by Lightyear Capital, plus management/employees—also means that growth targets, margins, and integration risk remain under watch.

Open questions include: How will Cerity integrate APW’s teams and clients while preserving culture and client relationships? What transition costs—technology, compliance, operations—are expected? What valuation metrics were used in the deal (e.g., multiple of revenue or EBITDA)? Also, how will the combined entity manage potential overlaps or conflicts (if any) in service offerings or advisor roles in the local market?