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Boston, Mass – October 3, 2023 – ��Ѩ��Ƶ, America’s top independent wealth planning¹��and workplace²��investment advisory firm, today announced the acquisition of Align Wealth Management (Align), a Registered Investment Advisor that provides a wide range of wealth management and financial planning services, including investment management, tax planning, retirement planning and estate planning.

Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with an additional office in St. Petersburg, Florida, Align manages approximately $425 million for nearly 360 clients.³

“Align is focused first and foremost on serving its clients, so we knew their culture would naturally match ours,” said Suzanne van Staveren, executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief operating officer at ��Ѩ��Ƶ. “In addition, their approach to holistic wealth management fits well with our broad suite of capabilities and commitment to serving clients who can benefit from advanced services, including retirement, tax and estate planning support. We look forward to welcoming Align to our team.”

The acquisition grows ��Ѩ��Ƶ’ presence into the Oklahoma and Florida markets, adding planner capacity in these key regions.

“Joining ��Ѩ��Ƶ will allow our planners to spend more time delivering high-touch services to clients while getting greater support with administrative and time-consuming back-office tasks,” said Brian Puckett, co-founder of Align Wealth Management. “It also provides growth opportunities for our team to be part of an industry leading firm that has a nationwide footprint yet is much nimbler than the largest shops – a perfect fit for the clients who need our help.”

“For the last 30 years we’ve operated under the philosophy that our clients’ interests always come first, and we’ve found a partner in ��Ѩ��Ƶ that shares our client focused commitment,” said Dennis Packard, co-founder of Align Wealth Management. “We look forward to joining the ��Ѩ��Ƶ team and growing together with our clients for many years to come.”

M&A remains a key area of strategic growth for ��Ѩ��Ƶ, and the firm expects activity will increase in the coming quarters as it continues conversations with strong partners.

“EFE has become an attractive strategic acquirer in the RIA space,” said Dan Seivert, chief executive officer at Echelon Partners, which served as transaction advisor to Align. “The acquisition of a high caliber firm like Align represents a great outcome for both firms and their clients.”�� ��

This transaction follows EFE’s acquisitions of Erman Retirement Advisory (2022), Herrmann & Cooke (2022), Smart Investor (2022), and Viridian Advisors (2021). These acquisitions expanded EFE’s wealth planning presence in both Northern California and the Pacific Northwest and added to its small business retirement plan and tax capabilities.

Baker McKenzie served as EFE’s counsel in connection with the transaction. Hill Ward Henderson served as Align’s counsel.

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