InvestmentNews reported on November 6, 2026 that BKFi, a Brooklyn-based registered investment adviser it described as tech-focused, has completed its first acquisition with a San Diego advisory team that brings private bank expertise and about $225 million in assets. Wealth Management had earlier dated its own report on the same deal November 4, 2026. The $225 million is an assets-under-management figure rather than a purchase price, and the sources reviewed for this article do not report deal terms.
The acquired team is Wealth With Options, known as WWO, which adds two advisors focused on tech equity compensation. BKFi's client-facing notice says the same advisors remain in place, continue to lead client relationships, and are already described as leaders and shareholders at BKFi. The firm says the combination adds advanced tax, trust and estate, and family office resources. According to Wealth Management, Jackie Lewis and Ryan Goldenhar will lead BKFi's West Coast efforts.
Wealth Management reported that Lewis and Goldenhar started Wealth With Options in 2019 after leaving Wells Fargo Private Bank, having seen an unmet need among technology professionals with equity compensation. The team was most recently affiliated with Mariner Independent and dropped that affiliation with this deal. BKFi's website lists Lewis as a CFP and MBA and Goldenhar as a CFA and CFP, both as partners in the private client practice. A third-party listing describes WWO as an education-first, fee-only boutique serving tech professionals. BKFi co-founder and CEO AJ Ayers told Wealth Management the team brings private-banking-caliber clients and a more sophisticated investment program.
BKFi, which operates as Brooklyn Fi, LLC, was started in 2018 by Ayers and Shane Mason, with a client focus that includes technology workers, company founders and creative professionals facing public offerings, business sales and other intricate planning. Wealth Management reported that the firm works with executives and employees from Palantir, Anthropic, Spotify, SpaceX and others. Mason's practice was a CPA firm, while Ayers came from a career in journalism and technology. Financial Advisor reported that the firm operates 100% remotely, and Pulse2 has noted that BKFi is a four-time Inc. 5000 honoree. According to the firm's June 2025 Part 2 brochure, its founding date is November 2017, it registered with a state in 2018, and it moved to SEC registration in April 2021. Its Form CRS, dated March 2024, says it has no account minimums. Financial Advisor, citing the firm's ADV, put assets under management at $563 million, with $350 million from high-net-worth households. A third-party report described BKFi as a $700 million registered investment adviser. The sources do not say which measure or date accounts for the difference.
The deal follows a minority investment. Accelerated Wealth Partners announced on May 20, 2026 that it had acquired a minority stake in Brooklyn FI, with its press release dated May 21, 2026. Brooklyn FI continues to operate under its existing leadership. Pulse2 reported that Accelerated offers growth capital along with access to its organic growth and M&A capabilities, and that the investment is slated to support hiring more advisors and improving equity compensation planning technology. According to Pulse2, J.C. Flowers & Co. has committed $200 million at the holding company level behind Accelerated. Accelerated was founded by Eric Amar, who previously worked on acquisitions at Focus, and Seward & Kissel LLP served as its legal counsel in the transaction. Financial Advisor said Accelerated's earliest minority investment went to Houston-based RIA Advisors, which oversees $1.6 billion in client assets. According to a third-party report, Accelerated also acquired a stake in Pallas Capital Advisors, a Massachusetts firm managing roughly $5 billion, during the same week as the Brooklyn FI deal.
Per Ayers, speaking to Wealth Management, BKFi was growing organically at a double-digit pace yet sought support for acquisitions, which drew it to Accelerated Wealth's deal experience. Wealth Management's May 2026 report described BKFi as a registered investment adviser founded in 2018 with a team of 17. The sources reviewed do not report the purchase price, deal structure beyond the assets and advisors described, or any further transactions planned by BKFi. Those details would be needed to judge the terms of the deal.