VestGen lands Willow Tree credit facility to fund RIA acquisitions

VestGen Wealth Partners has secured growth capital from private credit lender Willow Tree Credit Partners, a deal the two-year-old Chicago aggregator says will fund more acquisitions of advisory practices. InvestmentNews first reported the agreement; the credit facility's size was not disclosed.

VestGen launched in late 2024 with 10 advisory practices and $5.3 billion in assets, and nine more firms representing $2.2 billion joined the platform in 2025, per the report. The platform now has 19 firms and $7.5 billion in assets, and VestGen says it oversees $8.5 billion in total client assets.

CEO Jason Hanavan tied the backing to more buying. "Access to institutional capital will allow us to continue our aggressive growth strategy," he said in a statement.

Willow Tree is a New York private credit firm founded in 2017 by Tim Lower, with a $5 billion platform built on senior secured, floating-rate loans to middle market businesses. Lower credited VestGen with a "scaled platform" and a "disciplined ability to source, close and integrate high-quality firms," and said the firm would provide "flexible capital to support their acquisition strategy."

VestGen's pitch to sellers centers on succession, according to InvestmentNews, which reports it has resonated with retiring advisors in the independent channel. The firm launched VestGen Retirement Services in 2025 and invests in developing NextGen advisors.

Dealmakers announced 120 transactions in the second quarter of 2026 alone, and Echelon Partners' latest RIA M&A Deal Report puts the year on pace for roughly 500 deals, a rate that would make 2026 the most active on record, according to InvestmentNews.