Sammons Financial Group has placed its three registered investment advisors under a new holding company called Criterion, which has $27 billion in combined assets under management or advisement, WealthManagement.com reported on Oct. 13, 2026.
The three firms are Beacon Capital Management, NorthRock Partners and Wealthcare. According to WealthManagement.com, each keeps its own brand and its own Form ADV while sitting under the Criterion umbrella. The launch was also announced in a PR Newswire release.
Michael Mock, who had been running Sammons Wealth Management Group as its president, now holds the top job at Criterion, WealthManagement.com reported. Mock described Wealthcare as the final strategic addition the platform needed, and the outlet reported that Criterion does not plan to buy a fourth RIA.
On operations, WealthManagement.com reported that Criterion intends to pull some functions into a central team. Finance, accounting, capital management and deal work come first, with human resources, compliance, legal and investments to follow.
The structure fits Sammons' longer-term plan to expand through acquisitions and to spend on technology and advisor capabilities, according to the same report. Sammons also wanted to make clear that its wealth management arm is not a channel for selling its insurance products, the outlet reported.
The three firms arrived at different times, according to WealthManagement.com. Sammons entered wealth management in 2021 by acquiring Beacon Capital Management, an RIA and turnkey asset manager. NorthRock Partners followed in 2023, and Wealthcare LLC in 2025.
Sammons' member-company pages give each firm's size. Beacon, founded in 2000, had $4.1 billion in assets under management as of June 1, 2026. NorthRock had $11.7 billion and Wealthcare $10.1 billion as of July 1, 2026. Those pages say NorthRock uses a Personal Office model covering investments, tax preparation, estate planning and philanthropic giving, and a Business Record report places the firm in Minneapolis. WealthManagement.com described Wealthcare as a hybrid RIA based in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Wealthcare CEO Matt Regan expects the new ownership to help the firm bring on more advisors through its affiliation routes, which include both 1099 and W-2 arrangements, according to WealthManagement.com.
Sammons Financial Group is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. Its parent, Sammons Enterprises, is based in Dallas, was founded in 1938 and is employee-owned through an ESOP, according to the Umbrex directory.