Salman Partners Inc. and Woodstone Capital Inc., two Vancouver-based small, independent dealers, have agreed to merge.

The two firms said Tuesday they plan to amalgamate to create a diversified, independent dealer. No price was announced for the deal, which is expected to close in the fall, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

Salman, which was founded in 1994, has offices in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto. Woodstone has been around since 1997 as a retail boutique serving institutions and high net-worth clients.

“We are delighted to add Woodstone Capital’s retail and wealth management strength to our integrated investment platform,” said Salman Partners’ CEO, Terry Salman. “This is an important step in our continued strategic response to the changing structure of our industry; we believe there’s an opportunity for an independent full service dealer to offer alternatives to the larger dealers.”

Woodstone’s president, Mahmood Ahamed, added, “We believe the combined firm will expand our retail investment dealer business by offering a wider breadth of service and by attracting new advisors to the firm.”