EP Wealth Lands $900M Silicon Valley RIA

EP Wealth has acquired Opes Wealth Management, a Menlo Park-based firm managing over $900 million in assets. This acquisition marks EP Wealth's fifth transaction of 2026 and expands its total Bay Area presence to approximately $6 billion in assets. The deal underscores the strategic importance of acquiring specialized firms that cater to high-net-worth niches like technology executives and real estate investors within the wealth management sector.

EP Wealth, an acquisitive registered investment advisor based in Torrance, Calif., has finalized the acquisition of Opes Wealth Management, a Menlo Park-based firm with more than $900 million in assets under management. This transaction marks EP Wealth’s fifth acquisition of 2026 and increases the firm's total footprint in the San Francisco Bay Area to approximately $6 billion in assets. Opes Wealth Management was originally established in 2005 as Opes Advisors to integrate real estate and wealth management expertise, and it was later re-established by founder Mark Duvall after a previous entity was acquired by Flagstar Bancorp in 2017.

The acquisition brings Opes’ eight-person team into the EP Wealth fold, with Duvall and partner Erin Whalen joining as regional directors. Kyle Miller, chief M&A partnership officer at EP Wealth, noted that the firm was particularly attracted to Opes’ planning-first philosophy and its success in serving technology sector executives and individuals with complex real estate holdings. Miller highlighted that Opes was seeking a larger platform to support its growth, and EP Wealth’s extensive resources—including 45 professionals dedicated solely to financial planning—will provide the necessary scale for Opes to offer enhanced family office services such as integrated tax, trust, and estate planning.

This deal coincides with EP Wealth’s broader efforts to align employee incentives with firm growth through the recently launched Shared Prosperity Program. This cash-based incentive program is designed for non-shareholder employees, allowing them to participate in the upside of the firm’s share price through payouts based on their salary and future growth metrics. While the specific financial terms of the Opes acquisition, which was advised by Alaris Acquisitions, were not disclosed, the move reinforces EP Wealth's strategy of combining aggressive M&A activity with internal programs aimed at sustaining long-term organic growth and employee retention.