By Kenneth Corbin

Modern Wealth has made its first acquisition of 2026 with the purchase of Legacy Wealth Management, a former LPL Financial affiliate with $1.2 billion in client assets under management. The deal, announced Thursday, closed March 20.

The Legacy transaction is Modern Wealth's 20th acquisition since it launched three years ago with plans to build out a national wealth management firm in part through an aggressive acquisition campaign.

Legacy, which is based in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Plantation, Fla., gives Modern Wealth a foothold in the Florida market and expands its presence in the Southeast, where it already has offices in Chapel Hill, N.C., and Knoxville, Tenn.

Legacy will operate under Modern Wealth's branding. The eight-person firm is led by Tony DuBose and Joel Palatnik, who are joining Modern Wealth as managing directors.

The practice oversees about $300 million in retirement assets, working with just over 100 plans, according to its most recent Form ADV regulatory filing. On the retail side, it serves more than 1,400 families ranging from mass affluent to ultrahigh-net-worth, a client base that includes business owners, pilots, and others.

DuBose says that until recently, he hadn't considered selling the practice to a larger firm, but "all that changed" when his team began meeting with Modern Wealth.

"If you had asked me three years ago about merging or selling the firm, it would have been a hard no," he says. "From the start, they treated this not as a transaction, but as the next phase of growth for our firm, our clients, and our team."

Modern Wealth will handle operational functions such as payroll, compliance, and human resources, and its retirement plan unit will absorb that part of Legacy's institutional business.

Modern Wealth, which was launched by veterans of United Capital and Goldman Sachs with backing from Crestview Partners, now manages more than $12 billion in assets with 19 offices around the country.

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April 02, 2026 15:33 ET (19:33 GMT)

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