Perigon Wealth Management, which is backed by Merchant Investment Management, has acquired $145 million Amherst, MA-based registered investment advisor Stakeholders Capital for its first deal of the year.

Perigon also announced that wealth advisor Sheetal Bagde of Cognizant Wealth Advisors has affiliated with Perigon. Cognizant, an independent financial planning firm, is based in Palo Alto and has $100 million in assets.

Founded in 2008, Stakeholders Capital is run by former Wall Street options trader Andrew Bellak. The firm also has an office in Santa Monica, CA, headed by Gregory Wendt.

The firm specializes in impact investing and ESG screening and builds portfolios from socially responsible investing (SRI) fund families.

“Joining Perigon will enable us to expand our business through the utilization of its best-in-class services and support and we’re excited to help Perigon expand their ESG/impact capacity and become the first stop for any client or advisor who wants to adopt it into their portfolio or practice,” said Bellak.

Stakeholders Capital and its team of six advisors and staff will continue to operate under its own brand and Bagde will continue to operate as Cognizant.

Overseeing about $4.8 billion in assets, Perigon’s recent deals include the acquisition of $330 million Nauset Wealth Management in November 2022 and the merger with $750 million PM Wealth Management in September 2022.