Avantax snaps up $400M Pennsylvania team

Previously with Stratos Wealth Advisors, the new hires in the Northeast include three veterans with over 80 years of combined industry experience.

Avantax, the tax-focused financial planning and wealth firm, has gained another foothold in Northeast with an acquisition in Pennsylvania.

The national RIA announced Thursday that it has acquired GA Investment Management in a transaction that adds $400 million in client assets to its platform, with the 10-person team joining Avantax as W-2 employees in the Keystone State.

GA was most recently affiliated with Stratos Wealth Advisors.

The three partners who led GA, Stephen Gierl, Gary Augustine, and Tim Augustine, chose to sell to Avantax after an extended nationwide search as part of their succession planning, which one of the major pistons driving dealmaking across the industry, according to Echelon Partners.

They reportedly chose Avantax for its similar approach to financial planning and investment management, as well as its in-house asset management and expansive network of tax and accounting firm affiliates. That tax and planning expertise was exactly what appealed to Cetera, which acquired Avantax in November last year for a reported $1.2 billion.

“Several firms looked good to us, but what set Avantax apart was its incredible network of accounting firms, and its distinct approach of putting tax at the center of financial planning just like we do at GA, and that’s why we chose Avantax,” Gierl, a 34-year veteran of the industry, said in a statement.

Gary Augustine has been in the industry for 28 years, and Tim Augustine’s record stretches back across 23 years.

Highlighting both firms’ use of eMoney for planning and client experience as a significant factor, he emphasized the importance of tax-focused financial planning and praised the stable of planning experts and specialists at Avantax’s home office.

Gierl, Gary Augustine, and the rest of GA’s financial advisors and wealth management team have become employee-based investment advisers at Avantax Planning Partners, with Tim Augustine joining Avantax’s home office in an administrative role.

Todd Mackay, president of Avantax, underscored the cultural fit and alignment in the two firms’ client service approaches.

“GA is a group of great people committed to doing what’s in their clients’ best interest, and I can’t wait to see what’s ahead for the GA team as they focus on growth backed by the full resources of Avantax,” Mackay said.