Financial Services Acquisitions in Kentucky

Lexington-based MCF Advisors LLC has acquired Louisville fee-only Registered Investment Adviser Accredited Wealth Management LLC, adding $178 million of AUM and expanding MCF's presence in the Louisville market. The founders of AWM, Steve Giacobbe and Shawn Clark, joined MCF as Senior Financial Advisors and Partners; the deal is MCF's first transaction since taking an equity investment from Wealth Partners Capital Group and the Aspire Holdings platform of HGGC, and increases MCF's AUM to about $3.9 billion.

EP Wealth Advisors has acquired AlphaMark Advisors, a Fort Wright, Kentucky-based registered investment adviser, in a transaction that closed April 11, 2025. The deal adds roughly $385 million in AUM (reported by multiple sources) and expands EP Wealth’s Midwest footprint into northern Kentucky and the Greater Cincinnati area; Houlihan Lokey acted as exclusive financial advisor to AlphaMark.

Mercer Global Advisors, a Denver-based national RIA, has acquired D. Scott Neal, Inc., a Kentucky-based financial planning and investment management firm bringing over $300 million in AUM. The 10-person firm’s offices in the Lexington and Louisville areas become Mercer’s first partner presence in Kentucky; Houlihan Lokey advised D. Scott Neal on the transaction.

Bluespring Wealth Partners, a Kestra-owned acquirer of independent RIAs, has acquired Reliant Wealth Planning, a Louisville-based wealth management firm overseeing approximately $560 million in assets. The deal brings Reliant’s 13-person team into Bluespring’s platform to expand client services and capability while preserving Reliant’s advisory DNA.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Gallagher) has acquired Benton, Kentucky-based retail insurance broker Morgan, Trevathan & Gunn, Inc. The boutique brokerage, which specializes in trucking industry insurance for clients in Kentucky and nearby states, will continue to operate from its current location with its existing leadership team remaining in place under Gallagher's Mid-South retail P/C brokerage operations.

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: PEBO), parent company of Peoples Bank, completed its acquisition of Limestone Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: LMST) and Limestone Bank, Inc., effective April 30, 2023. The transaction adds Limestone's ~20 branches across Kentucky (about $1.5 billion in assets) to Peoples' footprint, expanding Peoples' Kentucky franchise and customer base.

City Holding Company (Nasdaq: CHCO) completed its acquisition of Citizens Commerce Bancshares, Inc., the parent of Citizens Commerce Bank of Versailles, Kentucky, effective March 10, 2023. The all-stock transaction was valued at approximately $62.1 million (exchange ratio: 0.1666 shares of City per share of Citizens) and merges Citizens Commerce Bank into City National Bank of West Virginia to strengthen City's presence in the Lexington, Kentucky MSA.

The Mather Group, a Chicago-based wealth management firm with roughly $8.3 billion in AUM, has acquired Multi-Fund Management Ltd., a Louisville- headquartered registered investment adviser led by David Handmaker. Handmaker joined TMG as part of the transaction; the deal expands TMG’s geographic footprint and capabilities in wealth management and client services.

Bluespring Wealth Partners, a Kestra Holdings subsidiary, has acquired Joule Financial, an independent registered investment adviser based in Lexington, Kentucky. The deal brings Joule's $280 million in AUM and its team into Bluespring's platform to scale operations, enhance client service, and accelerate growth.

Hub International Limited has acquired Taylor Advisors, Inc., a Louisville, Kentucky-based financial consulting and investment advisory firm. The acquisition strengthens Hub's Financial Institutions Specialty and expands its retirement advisory capabilities; terms were not disclosed and the Taylor Advisors team will join Hub Financial Services.

Integrity Marketing Group has acquired Plan Advisors, an independent marketing organization (IMO) with offices in Louisville, Kentucky and Miami, Florida. The acquisition gives Plan Advisors access to Integrity’s proprietary MedicareCENTER platform, CRM, quoting and enrollment technology and centralized back-office resources to scale its Medicare distribution and accelerate growth; financial terms were not disclosed.

DPL Financial Partners received a $26 million combined equity investment from existing investor Eldridge and new backer Atlas Merchant Capital. The growth capital will be used to develop technology and infrastructure to support DPL's network of more than 10,000 advisors; representatives from both investors will join a newly formed board.

Further Global Capital Management, an employee-owned private equity firm focused on financial services, completed the acquisition of Payment Alliance International (PAI), the largest privately-held ATM provider in the U.S. PAI, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, operates over 75,000 ATMs and provides turnkey placements, managed services, processing and support services.