Summit Financial Adds $1.2B RIA Signet Financial Management to Continue Rapid Expansion of its National Platform

Summit partners with a New Jersey-based advisory firm that’s positioned for accelerated business growth and continued innovation

PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Summit Financial, a preeminent investment advisory firm offering integrated wealth management and planning services, in collaboration with Merchant, announced the addition of Signet Financial Management, a $1.2 billion New Jersey-based registered investment advisor, to Summit’s rapidly expanding national platform.

Signet, founded in 1988, is one of the largest RIA firms to join forces with Summit. Led by principals Eugene Yashin, CFA^®, Steve Tuttle, and Shawn Hirsch, CFP^®, the firm has offices in New Jersey, Virginia, and Florida, and ranked No. 40 on the CNBC Financial Advisor 100 list. Signet advises families, individuals, and business owners on comprehensive financial planning and investment management.

This latest partnership reinforces the depth and breadth of Summit’s platform as a growth engine for advisory firms and its commitment to helping advisors and their clients achieve better outcomes. Signet joins SRM Private Wealth and Gordon Asset Management as the latest $1 billion+ advisory firm to join forces with Summit.

“We are honored and humbled that Signet has agreed to partner with Summit. Eugene, Steve, and Shawn have done an amazing job taking their business from where it began to here, building a top-tier firm,” said Stan Gregor, Chairman and Chief Executive, Summit Financial. “By joining Summit and gaining access to all of our wealth management, technology, and business resources, we're excited to see Signet achieve even greater heights."

Merchant, a New York-based lifecycle growth partner providing growth capital and long-term strategic support to independent RIAs and essential service providers, has partnered with more than 130 firms across the wealth management ecosystem. Signet Financial, which first partnered with Merchant in February 2021, has since increased client assets by more than 40 percent, underscoring its continued momentum and expansion.

“Strong partners deliver more than capital when investing in advisory firms. They bring sustained support, deep expertise, and a clear vision that empowers growth-minded advisors to elevate their businesses,” said Tim Bello, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Merchant. “We believe Signet is well-positioned to accelerate its momentum through the Summit growth engine. Together, the firms can expand their impact and further enhance the lives of the families they serve.”

The Compound Power of Partnership

Through the partnership, Signet advisors gain access to Summit’s broader platform, including its professional strategy team of financial planning, investment, and tax specialists, as well as institutional investment resources available through Summit’s national scale. These capabilities are designed to support more complex planning needs for high-net-worth and multigenerational clients.

Summit will also evaluate opportunities to incorporate select Signet-developed tools into its technology ecosystem. Among them is Holistico, a solution that applies artificial intelligence (“AI”) to investment research and portfolio workflows to support advisor efficiency and personalization.

"We are thrilled to join Summit to take our firm to the next level,” said Eugene Yashin, Signet Financial Co-founder, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer. “Our collaboration enables us to further enhance our top-tier service offerings, helping us meet the evolving needs of clients who rely on Signet to help them achieve their financial and life goals.”

Summit’s Growth Trajectory Continues

The addition of Signet underscores Summit’s multifaceted expansion strategy that combines acquisitions of growth-minded firms plus organic growth fueled by enhanced client investment planning and technology services.

Since 2020, Summit’s enterprise has expanded rapidly, with assets under management rising approximately six-fold to $24 billion, a balanced mix of growth that was roughly 60% M&A and 40% organic. Over the same period, revenue grew about four-fold while headcount grew to more than 525 professionals, underscoring Summit’s sustained investment in people, platform, and client experience.​

Summit’s M&A strategy enables partner advisory firms to retain some operational control and brand identity while accessing Summit’s centralized wealth management capabilities, integrated technology, growth capital, and integration support.

“For many advisors, the challenge is how to grow without signing away their legacy or incurring the expense of building out the required infrastructure from scratch,” said Keith Soltis, ChFC^®, Chief Business Development Officer at Summit. “Summit’s partnership approach enables advisors to remain entrepreneurs while tapping into the growth resources of a national firm.”

News in Brief

Summit Financial announced a minority investment in Signet Financial Management, a New Jersey-based RIA managing $1.2 billion in client assets, expanding Summit’s national platform of advisory firms. The transaction reflects Summit’s strategy of partnering with RIAs through investments that provide access to advanced technology, planning, and investment capabilities while allowing partner firms to maintain independence. Merchant Investment Management, a private investment firm, holds stakes in Summit and Signet.

ABOUT SUMMIT FINANCIAL

Summit Financial (“Summit”) is a preeminent investment advisory firm with over 40 years of experience helping advisors elevate their businesses and deliver exceptional client experiences. Built by advisors for advisors, Summit champions independence while providing the tools, capital, and resources needed to achieve growth and success.

Summit Financial, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser (“RIA”) established in November 2018, is the successor firm to Summit Equities, Inc. (registered with the SEC in 1991) and Summit Financial Resources, Inc. (registered with the SEC in 1983) for all of their investment advisory and financial planning business. Summit Financial, LLC, is wholly owned by Summit Financial Holdings, LLC ("SFH"), which is owned by Stanley Gregor and Merchant Wealth Management Holdings 3, LLC (“MWMH”). MWMH is wholly owned by Merchant Wealth Partners, LLC, which is wholly owned by Merchant Investment Management, LLC. Minority investments are made by SFH.

A 2025 Forbes|SHOOK^® and Barron’s Top 100 RIA Firm, Summit is deeply committed to its founding principles of independence and powerful financial planning. Interested advisors and firm leaders can learn more about Summit’s all-inclusive platform of fully integrated industry-leading services, thought leaders, and innovative technology—known as the SummitVantage™—at SummitFinancial.com.

Barron's 2025 Top 100 RIA Firms (published September 12, 2025, based on data as of June 30, 2025) and Forbes|SHOOK^® 2025 America’s Top RIA Firms (published October 1, 2025, based on data as of March 31, 2025). Rankings were determined based on proprietary evaluation processes conducted by Forbes|SHOOK^® and Barron’s. Summit Financial, LLC, did not pay a fee to obtain these rankings. A fee may be paid to the ranking providers for associated marketing and promotional activities.

CNBC received no compensation for placing financial advisory firms on their October 2025 Financial Advisor 100 list. Additionally, a firm's appearance in the ranking does not constitute an individual endorsement by CNBC of any firm.