Long-established Buffalo-area firm becomes 10th former Commonwealth team to join Merit as it positions for continued growth and long-term continuity
NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Merit Financial Advisors (“Merit”), a Georgia-based financial advisory firm specializing in financial planning and wealth management solutions for high-net-worth individuals and families and those navigating life transitions, today announced the acquisition of Moldenhauer & Associates, an Orchard Park, New York-based wealth management firm led by Brett Moldenhauer.
Moldenhauer & Associates oversees approximately $1.1 billion in client assets and serves nearly 1,900 households. Brett Moldenhauer and the firm’s 12 employees will join Merit and remain in their existing Orchard Park office, establishing Merit’s presence in the greater Buffalo and Western New York market.
With more than $32.92 billion in assets across more than 70 offices nationwide, Merit has become one of the wealth management industry’s most active growth firms, completing 63 acquisitions to date. This marks the firm’s twelfth partnership in 2026.
The partnership also marks the 10th firm formerly affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network to join Merit.
“Moldenhauer & Associates is exactly the type of firm we want to partner with as we continue expanding Merit,” said David Wahlen, Executive Vice President/Strategic Partners of Merit Financial Advisors. “Brett and his team have built an exceptional business with a strong culture, deep client relationships and an impressive track record of organic growth. Just as importantly, Brett is looking ahead. He wants to continue growing the firm, create opportunities for his team and make sure the business is positioned to serve clients for generations to come.”
Moldenhauer & Associates has deep roots in the Buffalo community. The business was founded by Brett’s father, Richard Moldenhauer, who began his career in the life insurance industry before evolving the practice into a financial planning and wealth management firm. Brett joined the business more than two decades ago and today leads a multi-generational team focused largely on helping clients approaching retirement and navigating their retirement years.
The firm’s growth has been driven primarily through client referrals and long-term relationships. Moldenhauer & Associates is on pace to add approximately $100 million in new assets this year, continuing a growth trajectory that has taken the practice from less than $150 million in assets when it joined Commonwealth in 2016 to more than $1 billion today.
For Moldenhauer, partnering with Merit was less about changing the firm’s client proposition and more about adding the infrastructure needed to support its next phase of growth.
“We have been fortunate to build a great business and an incredibly strong team, but as the firm has grown, running the business itself has become increasingly complex,” said Moldenhauer. “We want to continue growing at a meaningful pace, and we realized that having greater support around areas such as marketing, human resources, technology and operations would allow our advisors and staff to spend more time focused on clients and on the future of the firm. Merit gives us the opportunity to do that.”
Moldenhauer said seeing a growing number of experienced former Commonwealth advisors and executives choose Merit also helped distinguish the firm during his evaluation.
“What caught my attention was the caliber of people who were choosing Merit,” said Moldenhauer. “These were successful advisors and industry professionals I knew and respected who were still very focused on growing their businesses and building for the future. That made me want to understand what Merit was creating. The more I learned, the more I felt that it aligned with where we want to take our firm.”
That future includes a well-established next generation of advisors. Moldenhauer has three advisors in their mid-to-late 30s who have each been with the firm for more than a decade, along with another advisor who has been with the practice for more than four years.
Building greater long-term continuity for those employees and for the firm’s clients became increasingly important to Moldenhauer as the business surpassed $1 billion in assets.
“As a business grows, succession and continuity become about much more than the individual owner,” said Moldenhauer. “We have nearly 1,900 client households and a team of people whose careers are tied to the continued success of this organization. I wanted to make sure we were building something that could continue to thrive regardless of what happens to any one individual. 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.”
Wahlen said that mindset is increasingly common among the established, growth-oriented advisors Merit is attracting.
“Succession does not have to mean exit,” said Wahlen. “Brett is a great example of an advisor who is thinking proactively about continuity while remaining fully engaged in the business. He has an experienced next-generation team, strong organic growth and significant opportunity ahead of him. Our goal is to give Brett and his team additional resources and scale so they can spend the next chapter building an even stronger business.”
Moldenhauer & Associates was acquired by Merit effective September 25, 2026. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Merit Financial Advisors
Merit Financial Group, LLC, doing business as Merit Financial Advisors (“Merit”), is a national wealth management firm that supports both the independent broker-dealer and RIA models. Merit exists to enrich the lives of those they serve, and its mission is to revolutionize the client experience by building the wealth management firm of the future. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Merit has over 70 offices throughout the U.S. and manages approximately $32.92 billion in assets as of Sept 12, 2026, including $25.6B billion in advisory assets, $2.5 billion in brokerage assets, $3.02 billion in employer plans, and $1.8 billion in ESOP assets. For more information, please visit www.meritfinancialadvisors.com. Investment advice offered through Merit Financial Group, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser.
About Constellation Wealth Capital
Constellation Wealth Capital (CWC) is an alternative asset management platform dedicated to the wealth management sector. CWC provides flexible, long-term capital solutions and strategic advisory support to scaled wealth management platforms, leveraging deep industry expertise and an extensive network of relationships to help partner firms accelerate growth and create long-term value. Learn more at www.constellationwealthcapital.com.
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SOURCE Merit Financial Advisors
