At a glance
- The West Des Moines, Iowa-based insurance and annuity group announced the change Oct. 14, as reported by InvestmentNews.
- Criterion houses Beacon Capital Management, NorthRock Partners and Wealthcare, each keeping its own brand and operating independence.
- The three arrived separately: Beacon Capital Management was acquired in 2021, NorthRock Partners joined through a strategic partnership in 2023, and Wealthcare came aboard in a June 2025 acquisition from NewSpring Holdings.
Sammons Financial Group has rebranded its wealth advisory holding company as Criterion, a parent that the company says oversees more than $27 billion in assets under management and advisement combined. The West Des Moines, Iowa-based insurance and annuity group announced the change Oct. 14, as reported by InvestmentNews.
Criterion houses Beacon Capital Management, NorthRock Partners and Wealthcare, each keeping its own brand and operating independence. The stated plan is to grow by acquiring more advisory firms and by funding technology and talent inside the three it already owns.
The three arrived separately: Beacon Capital Management was acquired in 2021, NorthRock Partners joined through a strategic partnership in 2023, and Wealthcare came aboard in a June 2025 acquisition from NewSpring Holdings. PWD's records show a new Criterion registration dated Oct. 13.
| Firm | How it joined Criterion | Registered AUM in PWD records |
|---|---|---|
| Beacon Capital Management | Acquired, 2021 | $1.3 billion across 5,702 accounts (Oct. 10) |
| NorthRock Partners | Strategic partnership, 2023 | $12.2 billion across 24,014 accounts (Oct. 10) |
| Wealthcare | Acquired June 2025 from NewSpring Holdings | Not itemized in PWD records |
Beacon's and NorthRock's registered figures add to $13.5 billion, while the company's total is stated as assets under management and advisement and PWD's records do not itemize Wealthcare. The two numbers are not counting the same population of assets.
Criterion president Michael Mock said in a statement: "Over the past five years, these businesses have been assembled specifically to design and build a broad differentiated wealth management platform." The rebrand, he said, combines "its financial strength and access to capital."
Mock added: "Today's wealth advisors seek partners that understand and preserve their independence while providing the resources and stability they need to grow." Sammons Financial Group is a subsidiary of Sammons Enterprises, described in the report as one of the largest privately held, employee-owned companies in the United States.
RIA dealmaking is on pace for a record number of transactions in 2026, according to InvestmentNews, and acquired RIA assets nearly doubled in the first half of 2026, according to Fidelity analysis cited in the report. This publication reported Oct. 8 that XYPN had 110 firms working toward registration, up from 60 a year earlier, with RIABiz tying part of that increase to advisors leaving rollup-owned firms.
Reported by the RIA desk from InvestmentNews and PWD entity files and archive. Published . Corrections