Wealth Enhancement Acquires RWA Wealth Partners to Expand Family Office Unit

The Minneapolis-based firm will fold RWA's trust, estate and tax capabilities into Reserve by Wealth Enhancement, its offering for clients with $25 million or more in investable assets.

By the Family Office Real Estate Daily Desk·Thursday, October 1, 2026·2 min read

Editorial summary of reporting bySummit Partners Our editorial standards →

The answer · checked against Summit Partners

What did Wealth Enhancement acquire from RWA Wealth Partners and what does it add to the Reserve family office offering?

Wealth Enhancement, a Minneapolis-based national independent wealth management firm with $164.6 billion in client assets, announced on September 30, 2026 an agreement to acquire RWA Wealth Partners, which holds approximately $22.46 billion in client assets. The deal adds RWA's trust, estate, and tax capabilities to Reserve by Wealth Enhancement, the firm's offering for clients with $25 million or more in investable assets, bringing combined assets to more than $187.1 billion.

Key facts

Wealth Enhancement had $164.6 billion in client assets, including $5.5 billion in brokerage assets, as of August 31, 2026, according to the announcement.
RWA Wealth Partners had approximately $22.46 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2026, according to the announcement.
With the addition of RWA Wealth Partners, Wealth Enhancement will have more than $187.1 billion in client advisory, trust, and brokerage assets, according to the announcement.
Reserve by Wealth Enhancement is designed for families with $25 million or more in investable assets with complex, interdependent needs spanning investments, tax, estate planning, trusts, and business ownership or succession, according to the announcement.
RWA Wealth Partners was formed in 2023 through the combination of Adviser Investments and Ropes Wealth Advisors, which traces its roots to the trust and estate practice of Ropes & Gray, according to the announcement.
The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 and will represent an exit for Summit Partners, according to the announcement.

Wealth Enhancement Acquires RWA Wealth Partners to Expand Family Office Unit — Image: editorial illustration · Story sourced from Summit Partners

Wealth Enhancement entered into an agreement to acquire RWA Wealth Partners, a registered investment adviser led by Michelle Knight as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Economist, the Minneapolis-based firm said. RWA is headquartered in Boston and operates five additional offices across Massachusetts, California, Illinois and Michigan.

RWA delivers wealth management services through its Family Office and Private Wealth businesses. The Family Office unit will add depth to Reserve by Wealth Enhancement, the firm's dedicated offering for families with $25 million or more in investable assets and complex needs spanning investments, tax, estate planning, trusts and business ownership or succession, the firm said.

RWA's Family Office business serves ultra-high-net-worth individuals and multigenerational families whose wealth may span businesses, private investments, real estate, concentrated positions, charitable entities and multiple trusts, according to the announcement. Advisors and portfolio managers work alongside financial planners, fiduciary, tax and trust professionals, and client officers and administrators.

The acquisition will strengthen how Wealth Enhancement meets the needs of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, Jeff Dekko, Chief Executive Officer of Wealth Enhancement, said. RWA's established family office capabilities add depth with specialization in trusts and estates, tax-aware planning and the coordination required to turn advice into action, he said.

RWA Family Office is designed to help clients navigate consequential moments including business sales, trust management across generations, and estate settlement. For a founder preparing to sell a business, it can coordinate liquidity, tax, investment, estate, gifting and cash-flow decisions before and after the sale, the firm said. For a family managing multiple trusts across generations, it can bring together trust administration, tax and investment oversight, beneficiary support and family education.

RWA Family Office's trust and estate heritage traces to Ropes Wealth Advisors, the former registered investment adviser and wholly owned subsidiary of Ropes & Gray, the global law firm, which combined with Adviser Investments in 2023 to form RWA. Its family office capabilities include trust administration, professional trustee services, estate planning coordination and estate settlement, supported by personal and fiduciary tax planning and preparation, estate and gift tax analysis, tax projections and planning around liquidity events, the firm said.

Wealth Enhancement shares RWA's belief that comprehensive wealth management starts with a deep understanding of each client and the life they are working to build across generations, Knight said. Joining forces with Wealth Enhancement gives RWA's teams access to the scale, resources and breadth of a large national firm while allowing them to continue delivering highly personalized advice, she said.

The Deployment Angle

Family Office Real Estate Daily Desk · our analysis, not the source's

The RWA acquisition is a buy-side study in what family offices should build versus buy when assembling internal infrastructure. Wealth Enhancement chose to acquire rather than hire for trust administration, professional trustee services and fiduciary tax capabilities. That suggests these functions have become table stakes for serving the $25 million-plus segment but remain difficult to assemble organically at scale.

Family offices evaluating co-investment opportunities with wealth managers should underwrite the stability of the sponsor's family office unit separately from its advisory business. A firm that acquired its trust and estate capabilities in the past eighteen months may have integration risk that does not appear in the track record. Ask how long the trust officers have worked together, whether the professional trustee liability is cross-indemnified with the RIA, and how estate settlement processes survived the combination.

The $25 million threshold Wealth Enhancement cites for Reserve is instructive for families deciding whether to formalize a single-family office. Below that level, the cost of replicating trust administration, fiduciary tax work and estate coordination internally often exceeds the value of control. Above it, families can justify dedicated staff or a hybrid model where some functions remain outsourced to a specialist like RWA while investment decisions and governance stay in-house. Families near the threshold should model the all-in cost of hiring a trust officer, tax director and family office controller against the fees charged by a bundled service provider, then decide based on governance complexity rather than asset count alone.

Questions this story answers

01What capabilities does RWA Wealth Partners bring to Wealth Enhancement's family office offering?

RWA Family Office adds trust administration, professional trustee services, estate planning coordination, estate settlement, personal and fiduciary tax planning and preparation, estate and gift tax analysis, tax projections, and planning around liquidity events to Reserve by Wealth Enhancement, according to the announcement.

02Who will lead RWA Family Office after the acquisition closes?

Upon closing, RWA Family Office will continue to be led by Michelle Knight, JP Powers, Nicole LaChapelle, and Kristin Fazio, according to the announcement. RWA's Private Wealth business will operate as advisor teams at Wealth Enhancement, with Steve Reder continuing to work directly with those teams.

03What is the minimum asset threshold to access Reserve by Wealth Enhancement?

Reserve by Wealth Enhancement is generally designed for families with $25 million or more in investable assets and complex, interdependent needs spanning investments, tax, estate planning, trusts, and business ownership or succession, according to the announcement.

04Is RWA Wealth Partners woman-led?

RWA Wealth Partners is one of the largest woman-led registered investment advisers in the nation, according to the announcement. RWA is led by Michelle Knight, who serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Economist, and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

05What is Summit Partners' role in this transaction?

The acquisition of RWA Wealth Partners by Wealth Enhancement will represent an exit for Summit Partners, according to the announcement. Matt Hamilton, a Managing Director at Summit Partners, and Ashley Smith, a Principal at Summit Partners, both commented on the transaction at the time of the announcement.

Browse every question the desk has answered →

Original reporting

Summit Partners

Read the original at Summit Partners →

family-officewealth-managementtrusts-estatesacquisitionsuhnw

Peer Network · By Invitation

The Thesis Exchange

Share an investment thesis in confidence. We pair you anonymously with up to two other family offices running adjacent strategies. Reviewed by Gallium's editorial team. No vendor pitch.