Overland Park, Kansas—Creative Planning, the nation’s largest federally registered investment adviser ranked by assets under management, has agreed to purchase Seattle-based Duncan & Haley, Ltd., a move that will add roughly $660 million in client assets to its fast-growing Pacific Northwest franchise and underscores the accelerating pace of consolidation among independent advisory firms.
Terms of the transaction, announced Wednesday, were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter, pending standard regulatory approvals, and will bring Duncan & Haley’s 12-person team—including partners Mark Duncan and Mark Haley—into Creative Planning’s network of more than 400 advisers nationwide. The combined operation will manage more than $300 billion in discretionary assets, further widening the gap between Creative Planning and its closest publicly traded rivals such as LPL Financial and Focus Financial.
“Our clients want the institutional-grade resources of a global firm without sacrificing the boutique service model that has defined Duncan & Haley for 27 years,” Duncan said in an interview. “Creative Planning’s tax, legal, trust and family-office capabilities allow us to deliver on that promise at scale.”
The acquisition is the latest in a string of Pacific Northwest transactions for Creative Planning, which entered the Seattle market in 2018 with the purchase of Soundmark Wealth Management and has since doubled its regional headcount. Duncan & Haley, founded in 1997, serves approximately 300 high-net-worth households and small institutions, with a median client relationship of $2.2 million. The firm specializes in complex stock-option planning and pre-liquidity event strategies for technology executives, a demographic that has proliferated across the Seattle-Bellevue corridor.
Creative Planning chief executive Peter Mallouk said the deal reflects the firm’s disciplined approach to targeting practices that complement its existing expertise. “We are not buying for the sake of buying,” Mallouk told reporters. “We look for cultural alignment, a demonstrated commitment to fiduciary standards, and a client base that can benefit from our integrated planning platform.”
Industry analysts note that the registered investment adviser sector is consolidating at a record clip, driven in part by rising compliance costs and the need for sophisticated technology infrastructure. According to InvestmentNews, more than 200 RIA transactions were completed in 2025, up 28 percent from the prior year. Creative Planning alone has closed 18 deals since 2020, adding roughly $42 billion in assets.
“Scale matters now more than ever,” said Michael Wong, an equity analyst at Morningstar. “Firms that can spread fixed technology and regulatory costs across a larger asset base are winning the day.” Wong added that Creative Planning’s private ownership structure—Mallouk controls a majority stake—allows for longer-term capital allocation decisions that publicly held consolidators may avoid.
The transaction arrives as wealth managers grapple with shifting demographics. Cerulli Associates estimates that $84 trillion in assets will transfer from baby boomers to heirs over the next two decades, creating both opportunity and risk for advisory firms. “The ability to serve multigenerational clients is no longer optional,” said Cerulli analyst Chayce Horton. “Firms that can combine financial planning, tax strategy, and trust administration under one roof are best positioned to retain assets across the transfer.”
Duncan & Haley’s clientele skews younger than the industry average, with 42 percent of households led by individuals under age 45. Creative Planning intends to leverage its in-house digital onboarding portal, which allows new clients to complete paperwork and portfolio funding in under 15 minutes, to accelerate growth among that cohort. The portal, launched in 2024, has already reduced client-acquisition costs by 18 percent, according to company data.
Regulatory scrutiny of RIA acquisitions is intensifying. The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rule amendments in January that would require acquiring firms to provide 60-day advance notice of transactions exceeding $250 million in client assets, a threshold this deal eclipses. Mallouk said Creative Planning has already submitted the requisite filings and does not anticipate delays. “We have been through this process many times,” he noted. “Our compliance team treats every acquisition as if it will be examined.”
Seattle’s competitive landscape has tightened in recent years. Goldman Sachs completed its purchase of regional boutique United Capital in 2023, while private-equity groups have poured capital into local enterprise-tech firms, minting new millionaires seeking sophisticated planning. Duncan said the Duncan & Haley brand will sunset six months after closing, with all staff relocating to Creative Planning’s new 42,000-square-foot Bellevue office, scheduled to open this summer.
Creative Planning, founded in 1983, now operates 65 offices across 28 states. The firm offers investment management, tax preparation, estate planning, insurance, trust services, and a proprietary line of low-cost mutual funds. It has been recognized by Barron’s as the nation’s top RIA for three consecutive years. Despite market volatility, the firm reported record net inflows of $28 billion in 2025, driven largely by existing-client referrals.
Looking ahead, Mallouk said the pipeline for additional acquisitions remains robust. “We are in conversations with firms on both coasts,” he said, declining to elaborate. “Our balance sheet allows us to move quickly when the right opportunity arises.” The executive emphasized that organic growth remains the primary objective, targeting annual asset growth of 12 to 15 percent.
For Duncan & Haley clients, the transition will begin with a series of town-hall meetings and individualized portfolio reviews. “Change can be unsettling,” Haley acknowledged. “Our job is to demonstrate that this move amplifies, rather than alters, the relationship they have come to expect.”
The deal is expected to be neutral to Creative Planning’s earnings this year, with accretion beginning in 2027. BofA Securities served as financial adviser to Creative Planning; Duncan & Haley was represented by Fidelity Business Advisory Services.
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