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NewEdge Advisors, the New Orleans-based RIA partnership platform owned by NewEdge Capital Group, has acquired Stonegate Investment Group, a Birmingham, Ala.-based firm with 13 employees and about $6 billion in client assets. The Stonegate team represents the largest to join NewEdge Advisors’ pillar channel, which now has more than $14 billion in client assets.
Stonegate was created in 2021, when the team left UBS Financial Services after 13 years to create its own RIA. The firm, led by CEO Tony Smith, focuses on providing multi-family office services.
NewEdge’s pillar channel was introduced in 2023 to transact and partner with rapidly growing advisor practices. These advisors adopt the NewEdge name but can also maintain relevant sub-branding for their local market. They also have a more standardized tech stack and investment suite than those in the 1099 channel.
“Our pillar program is really geared to find teams like Stonegate—incredible practitioners that have broken through the barriers or glass ceilings that sometimes other advisors find difficult,” said Alex Goss, NewEdge Advisors CEO and co-founder. “And they did that by investing really heavily in their people and infrastructure. Those are the types of teams we look for to build beachheads in different markets. This is not a retirement play; this is a partnership strategy. The objective is for us to grow faster than either of us could without each other.”
While Goss said the pillar channel is a good fit for many wirehouse breakaways, they are having more conversations with existing RIAs than ever before.
“We’re starting to see more and more teams that have done what Stonegate did,” he said. “They left; they started their own firm. And what they’re realizing is that to really continue to deliver solid service and grow the way they want to grow, if they can partner with a firm like ours, they can take the back-office work off their plate and allow them to do more of what they’re already really good at doing. The growth and service path is enhanced.”
Late last year, Goss outlined plans for a big marketing and sales pitch for the W-2 channel this year. The move comes as NewEdge Advisors has seen interest from 1099 independent contractor advisors facing high valuations, both for recruiting or acquiring other RIAs, and for young advisors to buy equity stakes.
Goss said he expects 2026 to be his firm’s most acquisitive year yet.
That said, 85% of NewEdge’s advisor footprint consists of independent contractors, he said.