Kestra firms merge with plans for further coverage

Two firms in New Jersey and California have united under a single brand.

A plan to merge two partners of Kestra Private Wealth Services will begin a geographical expansion that is set to grow further.

Evoke Wealth Management, based in Montclair, New Jersey, will tie up with Maven Bridge Capital of Brea, California, and will operate in both locations under the Evoke brand. The enlarged entity has plans to seek partner firms in the Southeast later in the year.

The merger talks began in 2023 following a meeting in the previous year at the Kestra PWS Symposium, part of Kestra Financial’s annual Ascend Conference. Both firms had joined Kestra PWS in 2021.

Evoke is led by managing partners Howard Reizun, Athishay Gangadharan, and Craig Petrassi, and has clients across the country, while Maven Bridge’s CEO is Kristoffer Fu, who will continue to work with his existing client base while also supporting Evoke Wealth Management’s West Coast clients.

“Through this merger, I can elevate my client relationships by leveraging the enhanced value proposition that their expert team brings to the table,” said Fu. “And in turn, I look forward to supporting the growth of the team by attracting, mentoring and helping the next generation of financial advisors.”

The synergies that the two firms have reflect their independent decisions to join Kestra PWS three years ago and Kestra PWS CEO and senior managing director Rob Bartenstein says the merger supports their collective aims.

“Both teams’ journeys to independence with Kestra PWS were driven by a desire to create client-focused businesses without the limitations that wirehouses can pose, or the drawbacks of back-office administrative tasks that come naturally with owning a business,” he said. “By joining forces, the expanded Evoke Wealth Management team can continue to follow their joint vision of comprehensive client service with the continued help of Kestra PWS’s full-service support.”

The new merger announcement comes as stats reveal a drop in RIA firms’ M&A in 2023 – there were 251 transactions last year, compared to 264 in 2022 – but it is likely to be a blip in an upward trend according to experts.