Summit Financial Acquires Two RIAs, Adding $520M in Combined Assets

Summit Financial Holdings has acquired two registered investment advisory firms, adding $520 million in total client assets and expanding the firm’s footprint into Georgia and Oregon for the first time. 

Summit’s first addition, Kamal Capital Group, established in 1984, oversees roughly $170 million in assets under management and is led by CIO and managing partners Danny Kamal and COO Rob Kamal. 

The firm offers wealth management services, focusing on retirement planning for airline pilots and ultra-high-net-worth families, including aviation professionals and corporate executives. 

Kamal Capital Group has offices in Michigan and Georgia, Summit Financial stated. 

M Group Investment Advisor, founded in 2001, manages about $350 million in client assets and offers retirement planning, investment management, insurance, and portfolio strategies. M Group Investment Advisor also serves as a premier advisor for non-union construction companies that work on government projects. 

The firm, which is led by investment advisor representatives John Marcelia and Ed Leeper, is headquartered in Florida, with offices in Oregon and Washington. 

As part of the acquisitions, the Kamal Capital Group and M Group Investment Advisor teams will gain access to Summit’s platform, SummitVantage, which provides financial planning and investment capabilities, along with tax specialists. 

“What stood out with both firms is the intentionality behind their growth,” Keith Soltis, head of Growth and Business Development at Summit Financial, said. “They’re not just scaling for scale’s sake—they’re joining a platform that expands what they can deliver to clients.” 

In March, Summit purchased a minority stake in New Jersey-based RIA Signet Financial Management, which oversees $1.2 billion in assets under management.  

Since 2019, Summit Financial has been backed by serial RIA investor Merchant Investment Management. Last January, Summit Financial announced that Merchant took a majority stake in the firm.  

Summit Financial’s manages about $24 billion in assets under management, about 60% of which came through mergers and acquisitions, according to the firm.