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A true
partnership.

At Alaris, we're more than just advisors; we're your strategic partners. From start to finish, we're there, ensuring every aspect of your deal is executed with precision and expertise. Your success is our mission.

who we are
At Alaris, we genuinely view ourselves as part of your team. Having lived the roles of both buyers and sellers firsthand, we understand the intricate balance of intellect and emotion in your journey. Allow us to prepare you to be Deal Ready.
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What are your pathways to partnership?

about us

Meet your team.

The Alaris team is composed of diverse professionals with years of experience in the wealth management industry. This includes former owners of RIA's and senior members from M&A teams of some of the country's largest financial services firms.

leadership team
Allen Darby
CEO
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Allen has been in the wealth management industry for 3 decades. He founded a highly successful firm that was one of the pioneers in assisting accounting firms get into the wealth management business. In 1999, he sold that enterprise to First Global, Inc. of Dallas TX, and subsequently founded a successful RIA in Charlotte, NC. With his own RIA he completed 9 mergers and acquisitions eventually selling his practice in 2009 in order to focus his expertise in the M&A arena.

Prior to launching Alaris in 2019, Allen led the outbound M&A activities for United Capital from 2012-2019. As a buyer advisor for United, he led the team that sourced over 25 acquisitions culminating in United's sale to Goldman Sachs.  He has a wife, Jo Ann, of 30 years and two children, Trevor and Alana. Allen lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Fl. He is an avid traveler, enjoys cooking and outdoor activities as well as studying apologetics.

Jacqueline Martinez
Managing partner
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Jacqueline is a Managing Partner at Alaris Acquisitions focused on assisting our buyers build repeatable, scalable acquisition programs and leading sellers to a broader marketplace.

Before joining Alaris in 2021, Jacqueline served as the head of acquisitions for Goldman Sachs’ Personal Financial Management, following their acquisition of United Capital in 2019. Jacqueline led the charge to create a new deal structure and completed two acquisitions in the first year. For the five years prior to the sale to Goldman Sachs, Jacqueline led United Capital’s analytical and legal efforts to successfully close and integrate nearly 35 transactions of independent RIAs firms ranging between $200M – $2B in assets under management.

Jacqueline lives in Orange County, CA with her husband and two young children. Outside of the office, she loves taking barre classes, trips to Maui without the kids, and supporting local craft breweries.

John Salony
Director of valuations
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John is an Advisor and Director of Valuations at Alaris assisting in both the deal advocacy and the sell side process, financial analysis, and financial recasts.

John has vast experience in M&A having been a Vice President in the Global Corporate Investment Banking Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and he was a Management Consultant for RGP providing M&A services to clients throughout the southeast. Additionally, John worked at Lowe's Home Improvement in their Corporate Finance Department.

John holds a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Maryland. John was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Salisbury State University.

John and his wife Julie have 2 boys, Jack and Owen. John enjoys anytime with his family, hunting, and shooting sporting clays.

Rick Muzik
Director of Partnerships
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Rick joins Alaris Acquisitions with 15 years of wealth management experience. He brings an extensive network and knowledge base to the team from his background consulting with owners of independent wealth management firms. For the last 8 years, Rick's primary client was United Capital and its advisors. In that time, Rick worked with United Capital to build, launch, and scale a successful risk management and insurance platform for offices to use with their clients. Rick earned a degree in communications from Eastern Michigan University while competing on the Forensics Team and doing play-by-play for Football and Basketball. Rick is fueled by laughter and his beautiful wife of 10 years, Jessica, and two sons Andrew and Colton.

partnership coordinators
Alana Groulx
Senior Buyer Relations Coordinator
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Alana Groulx is a member of the Alaris team, serving as the Senior Buyer Relations Coordinator. Her role is to have a deep understanding of all the Alaris Buyer models and the types of partners they are seeking. With this knowledge, Alana is able to guide potential sellers through the matchmaking stage of the Alaris process. You can expect to work closely with Alana after the ideal outcome stage and before the LOI stage. She will be your go-to person for any questions or concerns regarding buyers during this critical phase of the process.

Trevor Darby
Technology Coordinator
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As the technology coordinator, Trevor is responsible for maintaining and advancing the suite of Alaris’ technology. Trevor handles the artificial intelligence technology for Alaris and is constantly improving upon it. Trevor may also fill the role of partnership coordinator on an as-needed basis.

Ragan Edwards
Senior Partnership Coordinator
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As a partnership coordinator, Ragan's primary focus is to help shepherd potential sellers through the Alaris process starting from the very first introductory meeting up until an LOI is signed, serving as the main point of contact for them. Through the Alaris Process, Ragan helps with coordinating and facilitating meetings, aggregating and auditing data provided by the sellers, creating and distributing confidential information memorandums (CIM Decks), and serving as a seller's confidant and sounding board. Ragan serves as the project manager for sellers with a partnership director.

Hana Thomas
Transition Coordinator
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Hana is Alaris’ transition coordinator and works in the recast phase and the post-LOI phase. In the recast phase, she helps gather data and create the recast. For transitions, she helps with everything post-LOI, from gathering due diligence requests to being on weekly transition calls and assisting with any items needed to close.

Faith Taylor
Partnership Coordinator
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As a Partnership Coordinator, Faith serves as the primary contact for advisors entering the Alaris process, guiding them from the first call to the LOI signing. Faith’s duties include data collection, maintaining a healthy deal cadence through effective meeting coordination, and a keen focus on understanding advisors' partnership motivations.

Sydney Williams
Marketing Director
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As Alaris' Brand Strategist, Sydney is at the forefront of driving demand, lead generation, and amplifying brand recognition to seize new business opportunities and foster growth. Sydney brings a wealth of experience and expertise in brand, marketing, and communications strategies. During her tenure as a Communications Lead at Wells Fargo, she excelled in spearheading strategic storytelling and impactful communication strategies, which fostered brand loyalty and proved instrumental in achieving organizational objectives.

John Moraites
Contractor: Senior Partnership Coordinator
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John is a broad-based impact leader with over 40 years as a financial services leader with proven and measurable success. He has provided national leadership to the fifth largest accounting firm, RSM McGladrey, in the development of a major growth practice in Wealth Management Services that resulted in building a $5Billion wealth management national practice in just four years which included mergers.

John was with American Express Financial Advisors (currently named Ameriprise), and pioneered the innovation of financial planning and tax services acquisitions while leading several key business units to great success. As a Senior Vice President with MetLife, and president of a broker dealer, he successfully developed and merged a new distribution system and the centralized financial planning service system.

In all aspects of his role and specifically the past several years, he has been advising clients on mergers and long term growth strategies leveraging his deep knowledge of the industry and cultural dynamic fits for clients.

John is a graduate of Loyola University in New Orleans with a bachelor’s in social services and has attained the CFP© designation.

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"We love working with Alaris because they understand our model and culture. When they bring us a prospective partner, we have extreme confidence that it's a great fit for both parties. They truly care about the outcome for the buyer and the seller equally."
Apollon Wealth Management

Mike Dohlberg, CEO Apollon Wealth Management

"At Beacon Pointe, culture is everything. We know when Alaris brings us a prospective partner they have gone through a robust process, are well educated, and have a high probability of being a fit for our family. It's a refreshing model for our industry."
Beacon Pointe

Matt Cooper, President Beacon Pointe

"Alaris stands out amongst its peers. We appreciate the fact that they took a substantial amount of time to understand our firm and culture - no other M&A advisor has ever done that. The seller economics will always be important and while Alaris seeks to maximize that part of the seller outcome, it's never at the expense of cultural fit."
Prime Capital Investment Advisors

Glen Spencer, CEO Prime Capital Investment Advisors

"I first met Allen and Alaris during the summer of 2021. By the end of the year, my life had changed as they were an integral part in helping me make the next transition in my business career by selling/merging with a bigger company. Their communication and recommendations along the way were priceless, and being that this was the biggest career move of my life, they did a wonderful job at making me feel the very comfortable during the process."
Southern Trust Financial Planning

Marc Wolff Owner, Acquired by Beacon Pointe

"Working with Alaris gave us a great sense of confidence through the entire journey and their knowledge of the buyer universe accelerated the process. They are organized, transparent, and frankly, just a great team to work with. We were very happy with them and received a much higher valuation than we would have on our own."
Horseman Group

John Horseman Owner, Acquired by Allworth

"Alaris was a great partner with us in the M&A process. We felt better educated, guided and ultimately able to identify who was a great fit for us as a result of their process."
Barber Financial Group

Dean Barber Owner, Acquired by Modern Wealth Management.

"Alaris was amazing! Not only did they help me find the right fit (or firm?), but they made the transition much smoother than it would've been on my own. And I believe the overall outcome was much better than it would've been without them."
Rosenthal Retirement Planning

William Rosenthal Owner, Acquired by Beacon Pointe

"Working with Alaris was like being part of a team. their industry knowledge and experience was extremely valuable and the level of professionalism they provided was crucial throughout the entire process."
Vintage West Capital Management

William Blanton Owner, Acquired by Miracle Mile.

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Referral Program

The Alaris Alliance

If you have wealth management firms you would like to refer to Alaris, we want to work with you!

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