Clearstead Hires Ex-Acrisure M&A Director Shaun McCracken to Drive $62B RIA Deal Flow

Clearstead, a Cleveland‑based registered investment adviser, serves private clients and over 300 institutional accounts. Its private‑client platform blends financial planning, tax preparation, family office services and investment management. The firm’s expansion has been backed by private‑equity sponsor Flexpoint Ford, which took a stake in 2022 and has since pursued a selective acquisition strategy.

The Clarius Group deal closed on Jan. 31, adding 36 professionals and roughly $5.1 billion in assets to Clearstead. Following that transaction, the firm reports total assets under advisement of about $62 billion. McCracken most recently worked as a director‑level M&A specialist at Acrisure, where he helped execute a series of bolt‑on deals and partnerships. Before Acrisure he consulted on market‑data systems for Citadel.

In the broader RIA market, peers such as LPL Financial (LPLA) hold a market capitalization of about $15.2 billion, up 2 % year‑to‑date, while Charles Schwab (SCHW) sits near $115 billion, down 0.5 % YTD. SEI Investments (SEIC) is valued near $13 billion, up 4 % YTD. The sector’s average AUM growth in 2024 was roughly 6 % according to Cerulli Associates, suggesting Clearstead’s $62 billion base places it among the top‑tier independent advisers.