Alera Group, an independent, national insurance and financial services firm based in Deerfield, Ill, has acquired The Ascent Group and its affiliated companies – Summit Group in Virginia Beach, VA and Pennsylvania-based Walsh & Nicholson Financial Group.

The deal adds approximately $1.5bn in client assets to Alera Group Wealth Services’ registered investment advisor (RIA) business, bringing its total assets under management to $7.5bn, and $1.3bn to Alera Group Retirement Plan Services.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2021 by Jeff Silverman, Brian Walsh and Michael Moss, its CEO, The Ascent Group’s investment infrastructure includes a turnkey asset management program that was developed in part to reduce overall client expenses by bringing critical functions in-house and eliminating vendors.

The firm is backed by private equity firms Genstar Capital and Flexpoint Ford, both of which have made significant investments in the RIA industry in recent years. Genstar Capital backs Mercer Global Advisors and Cerity Partners, while Flexpoint Ford backs Clearstead.

The latest deal by Alera follows its acquisitions in June of $3.4bn Wharton Business Group and $3bn Johnson Brunetti in August.