Updated
Updated · Wealth Management · Sep 17
Merit Financial Adds $888 Million Advisor Tim Brennan, Lifting Commonwealth Haul Above $5.7 Billion
Updated
Updated · Wealth Management · Sep 17

Merit Financial Adds $888 Million Advisor Tim Brennan, Lifting Commonwealth Haul Above $5.7 Billion

2 articles · Updated · Wealth Management · Sep 17

Summary

  • Merit Financial’s 11th partnership of 2026 brings in Tim Brennan and his team, adding about $888 million in client assets and more than 1,000 households from Deerfield, Illinois.
  • Brennan left Pinnacle Financial Group after nearly 27 years with Commonwealth, saying Merit offered room to keep growing while shifting more of his time from running a business to developing his team.
  • The deal deepens Merit’s Chicago expansion, keeping Brennan’s Deerfield office and a separate $57 million Wisconsin practice in place while giving him equity in the $30.1 billion Atlanta-based RIA.
  • Merit said the move pushes assets recruited from Commonwealth advisors above $5.7 billion across nine transactions, as firms compete for teams ahead of LPL Financial’s planned November platform transition.

Insights

What hidden equity incentives is Merit offering to successfully poach nearly six billion in assets from top-tier advisory teams?
As LPL absorbs Commonwealth, why are veteran wealth advisors fleeing to mid-sized RIAs like Merit instead of staying for the transition?
Will clients of acquired wealth management firms face unexpected fee hikes as independent RIAs aggressively consolidate to build national scale?