Merit Financial Advisors, an Atlanta-based RIA overseeing almost $33 billion, has acquired a family-run practice in a Buffalo, New York, suburb that was affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network.
Moldenhauer & Associates oversees about $1.1 billion in client assets for nearly 1,900 households, according to an announcement. Led by Brett A. Moldenhauer, the 13-person team will remain in its Orchard Park office, giving Merit its first location in New York.
The deal closed on September 25 and included a mix of cash and equity, Merit said. Additional terms were not disclosed.
Moldenhauer & Associates registered as an RIA in September 2025, about a month after LPL Financial closed its $2.7 billion purchase of Commonwealth. The RIA was owned by Moldenhauer and his father, Richard C. Moldenhauer, who has logged over five decades in the industry, according to a Form ADV brochure filed in January.
Moldenhauer and other advisors have shifted their brokerage licenses to Purshe Kaplan Sterling. About $900 million of the firm’s assets are in advisory accounts, with roughly $170 million in brokerage and $20 million in retirement plans, he wrote in an email.
The RIA will shut down “in the near future” now that it is part of Merit, Moldenhauer wrote. Most client accounts will remain with Fidelity, while a small number will be moved to Schwab Advisor Services.
Moldenhauer started his career in 2004. He and the team joined Commonwealth in 2016 from Ameritas Investment Corp.
LPL’s purchase of Commonwealth prompted the group to rethink the technology and support it needed to continue growing, Moldenhauer said.
“Partnering with Merit gives us greater depth and creates additional opportunities for our team without requiring me to step away from a business I still very much want to grow,” Moldenhauer stated.
Moldenhauer also cited the number of former Commonwealth advisors and executives who had already chosen Merit. The firm said it has added 10 Commonwealth teams, including Moldenhauer, and last month added an $888 million team in the Chicago area.
The deal is Merit’s 12th this year and 63rd to date, the firm said. President Kay Lynn Mayhue, who becomes chief executive on January 1, said last month that Merit expected to announce four more deals by the end of the year.
Merit is majority owned by its leadership and employees and has minority backing from Constellation Wealth Capital.
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