Wealth firms continue to leverage accountants and vice versa as tax firm UHY said on Monday it has grown its wealth business through a deal for a Hudson Valley-based rival.
UHY’s deal for RBT CPAs LLP was primarily driven by their core accounting businesses, but an announcement on Monday highlighted its importance to the acquirer’s nascent wealth business.
Following the deal, New York City-based UHY has $1.5 billion in client assets, according to the announcement. It previously had around $103 million under management, according to its most recent Form ADV filed when the firm registered UHY Wealth Management RIA with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year.
A UHY spokesperson said that the combined firm includes around 20 advisors.
“We will build on their commitment to client engagement by integrating our advanced technologies, proprietary international network, and national wealth management practice so we can focus on operational excellence and deliver more for all our clients for years to come,” UHY Chief Executive Steve McCarty said in a statement.
RBT, which had around 175 employees, provided audit, tax, consulting, wealth management and transaction advisory services, according to the announcement.
The deal reflects a broader trend of closer ties between RIAs and accounting firms. Creative Planning’s purchase of BerganKDV in 2023 was among the notable in recent years, and it also last month said it would buy MarkhamNorton Accountants+Advisors. Modera Wealth last year bought a New Jersey practice, while other firms have set up CPA “alliance” programs.
UHY, the U.S. subsidiary of U.K.-based Urbach Hacker Young International Limited, has completed around 15 deals in recent years as part of a bid to expand in South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio, according to the announcement.