Summit Financial, a Parsippany, N.J.-based registered investment advisor backed by Merchant Investment Management, has taken a minority stake in Gateway Advisory, a New Jersey-based RIA with $830 million in assets under management. This represents Summit’s 21st investment since the start of 2024.
The deal is part of the RIA’s Summit Growth Partners initiative. Summit has taken a minority, non-controlling stake in Gateway, which will retain its leadership and core teams. They will join Summit’s Parsippany, N.J. office.
Gateway, which has offices in Troy Hills and Toms River, N.J., was founded in 2010 by the three principals, Brian Power, Jay Flamme and Glenn Blachman. The trio was with Merrill Lynch before that.
Stan Gregor, CEO of Summit Financial Holdings, said the Gateway team secured an $80 million client account within the first week of joining Summit. He attributes the win to Summit’s multi-family office model, in which it has in-house professionals and attorneys to help with high-end financial planning and trust and estate work.
“We keep running into advisors that have done a great job building their relationships with their clients, but the clients and advisors are looking for more from a servicing model,” he said. “The acumen and knowledge base of our team is so deep and broad that they go in and they identify opportunities and solutions that clients should really be taking advantage of.”
“Summit provides the perfect balance of independence and support, allowing us to enhance our service offerings while preserving the highly personalized service our clients expect,” Power said in a statement.
This follows news in January that Summit had taken a minority stake in Genex Consulting, a Kirkwood, Mo.-based multi-family office with $700 million in client assets.
Summit is now approaching $21 billion in assets under administration as of March 13, 2025, with a network of approximately 125 advisors.
Summit offers breakaway and independent advisors an opportunity to align with the firm as partners. Affiliate companies gain access to Summit’s multi-family office-style services, including technology, financial planning, investment management, insurance and operational support.
Advisors joining Summit maintain full ownership of their businesses, and those who meet certain criteria are invited to join its Summit Growth Partners initiative. Additionally, these advisors can choose from multiple custodial providers, including Fidelity, Schwab, Goldman Sachs, Pershing and SEI.
Summit has been minority-backed by Merchant Investment Management since 2019. The firm recently disclosed in its Form ADV that Merchant now owns a controlling stake in the firm.