Merit Financial Advisors has acquired The Bridgeway Group, a wealth management business based in Southern California with locations in Pasadena and Covina.
Bridgeway has now adopted the Merit Financial Advisors brand.
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The companies did not disclose the financial or legal details of the agreement.
Bridgeway manages about $900m in assets overall and is headed by long-time partners Matt Dupon, Sean Montgomery and Scott Miller.
Its nine-member team offers financial planning and investment management services, with retirement planning as a key area of work.
Dupon said: “We have built a strong business and want to keep growing, but continuing at this pace requires greater infrastructure and support. Merit gives us that support while allowing us to maintain the independence that has always been extremely important to us.”
The transaction is Merit’s 61st acquisition and its ninth partnership of 2026.
Bridgeway is the sixth former Commonwealth Financial Network team to move to Merit since Commonwealth’s sale to LPL Financial was announced last year.
All Bridgeway staff are joining Merit.
Dupon and Montgomery will take the title of wealth manager, partner, while Miller will become area director, wealth manager, partner.
Bridgeway had been affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network for the past 13 years.
Over the past five years, it recorded annual growth of about 22% through a mix of market gains, acquisitions and organic expansion.
Merit Financial Advisors managing principal, partner Tait Lane said: “This is already a highly successful firm with significant momentum. They are not looking for someone to change the business. They are looking for a partner that can help remove constraints around a great business and give a talented team more capacity to grow. That is where we believe Merit can add tremendous value.”
In April, Merit Financial Advisors acquired Strategic Retirement Plans, a registered advisory business with its main office in Billings, Montana, and another location in Gillette, Wyoming.
