M&A continued within the RIA area this week, as Cetera moved towards a brand new affiliation mannequin, Hightower and Wealthspire each added corporations with round $1 billion in belongings, and Mercer, Kestra and tru Independence all added corporations with greater than a billion in collective belongings.
In information reported earlier this week, Creative Planning acquired $2.5B AUM BerganKDV, Ed Swenson landed at Advisor Group following Dynasty departure and private equity firm Altas took a stake in Mercer.
Cetera Holdings Buys First Pure RIA, $1.4B AUM The Retirement Planning Group
Cetera Holdings, the holding firm of Cetera Monetary Group, introduced the acquisition of The Retirement Planning Group.
An unbiased RIA with 40 staff, together with 14 advisors, TRPG is led by CEO Kevin Conard. With headquarters within the Kansas Metropolis space, the agency additionally has places of work in St. Louis and Denver.
The deal represents the primary acquisition of a pure RIA by Cetera—which owns a community of unbiased dealer/sellers—and comes lower than a month after the corporate hired former Fidelity Investments senior executive Mike Durbin as its CEO, signaling an intention to maneuver extra severely into the area.
“This acquisition is synergistic on many ranges and represents our dedication to continually establish and ship a number of choices that give advisors a depth of selection and suppleness to affiliate their enterprise with Cetera as they see match,” Durbin stated in an announcement.
In February and April, respectively, Cetera introduced minority investments in Prosperity Advisors and NetVEST Financial. In January, the holding firm introduced an settlement to acquire the retail wealth business of Securian Monetary Group, anticipated to shut within the third quarter of this 12 months.
As of late March, San Diego-based Cetera Monetary associates oversaw round $330 billion in belongings below administration and $116 in belongings below administration.
Mercer Advisors Acquires RMR Wealth Advisors
Mercer International Advisors announced it acquired RMR Wealth Advisors, a five-person registered funding advisory crew in Madison, Wisc., managing round $350 million in belongings for greater than 160 rich and ultra-wealthy purchasers and a handful of retirement plans and charities.
RMR was based in 2009 by Erik Mikkelson, and is co-owned by Doug Giageos and Lisa Sowls.
“We realized we had hit a development inflection level and needed to both considerably reinvest within the firm or be part of a agency that had already efficiently created the dimensions and leverage, in addition to the expanded service providing, we have been searching for,” Mikkelson stated in an announcement.
Mikkelson stated the agency was launched to Mercer’s head of M&A Dave Barton and was drawn to the historical past and in-house household workplace companies, together with property planning, tax companies and company trustee companies.
“Erik, Douglas and Lisa have constructed a high-service household workplace resolution for his or her clientele. On this manner they appeared rather a lot like Mercer Advisors,” stated Barton.
Based in 1985 and primarily based in Denver, Mercer at present oversees some $48 billion in shopper belongings. Majority owned by Oak Hill Capital, Genstar Capital and—as of this week—Atlas Companions, Mercer has round 900 staff and greater than 80 places of work nationwide.
Kestra PWS Brings Former Wirehouse Quartet Collectively to Create Vacation spot Wealth Advisors
Kestra Non-public Wealth Companies, a hybrid RIA platform owned by Kestra Monetary, announced the launch of Vacation spot Wealth Advisors on its platform. Fashioned by former wirehouse advisors, the brand new agency oversees some $500 million in shopper belongings.
Led by CEO Ben McDonald, who established BGW Wealth Advisors in 2021 after leaving Edward Jones, the agency consists of companions Bryant Trombly, Austin Palmer and Dee Buckminster, who left Merrill Lynch.
The choice to launch Vacation spot was pushed by a need for extra “flexibility, autonomy, and freedom from company agendas,” in keeping with Kestra.
“Purchasers need personalization,” McDonald stated in an announcement. “To that, we inform them that Vacation spot Wealth is a speedboat with the power to make fast turns and adjustments. Kestra PWS offers us the assets of a big cruise ship, however leaves us with the speedboat flexibility our purchasers crave.”
With headquarters in Huntersville, N.C., Vacation spot will even set up places of work in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Hendersonville, N.C.; Myrtle Seaside, S.C.; and Los Angeles.
Kestra PWS at present oversees round $4.5 billion for about 8,800 purchasers on the unbiased RIA aspect, in keeping with a latest Kind ADV submitting. Kestra Funding Companies, one other Kestra Monetary subsidiary, offers brokerage companies for platform advisors.
Since launching in 2010, Kestra PWS has supported greater than 30 agency launches for breakaway advisors.
Hightower Provides $1B Boston Hill Advisors
In its sixth acquisition of the 12 months, Hightower introduced it invested in $1 billion AUM RIA Boston Hill Advisors.
Based in 2006 by managing companions Joseph Trainor and Michael Edwards, the agency at present has 17 staff, together with eight advisors, overseeing greater than 1,000 shopper accounts. With two places of work in North Andover, Mass., the agency has an extra location an hour south in Natick.
Boston Hill expects to leverage Hightower’s development session companies, center and back-office operations, and infrastructure to enhance companies for brand spanking new and present purchasers, in keeping with an organization assertion.
With roughly $148.2 billion in retirement belongings and $119.9 billion in belongings below administration, Chicago-based Hightower gives a variety of observe help companies to its secure of 132 companies, situated in 34 states and Washington, D.C.—in areas reminiscent of expertise, expertise, advertising and marketing, funding administration, compliance, accounting, payroll and human assets—in addition to quite a lot of M&A transaction companies.
Final week, Hightower added Vigilant Wealth Management, with $2.3 billion in shopper belongings.
Wealthspire Advisors to Purchase ACG Wealth Administration
Wealthspire Advisors, an New York Metropolis-based RIA subsidiary of insurance coverage large NFP, has entered into an agreement to purchase ACG Wealth Administration, a privately held RIA primarily based in Richmond, Va.
Led by J. Saunders Wiggins, ACG includes greater than 15 professionals serving greater than 240 households and 285 plan sponsors with rather less than $1 billion in investable belongings.
Its retirement plan companies can be built-in into NFP’s Atlantic area retirement division, led by Managing Director Jessica Espinoza.
“We’ll proceed to supply the identical companies and care that our purchasers have identified for many years however now with the help of a a lot deeper pool of assets,” Wiggins famous in an announcement.
The transaction is predicted to shut within the third quarter of 2023, topic to customary situations.
Based in 1995, Wealthspire advisors handle nearly $20 billion in shopper belongings from 20 places of work in 12 states on each coasts and within the midwestern U.S.
tru Independence Helps Launch of $200 Million Gainline Monetary Companions
tru Independence, a Portland-based community of RIAs with $10 billion in collective belongings, introduced the launch of a brand new agency on its platform—Gainline Monetary Companions.
Beforehand affiliated with Wells Fargo’s FiNet, Gainline manages round $200 million and represents tru’s first companion in Boulder, Co.
Gainline companions Charlie Barkmeier and Paul Rohr have been in search of “elevated autonomy,” in keeping with the announcement and have been drawn to the community by its truView ‘experience-as-a-service’ platform, which mixes expertise, behavioral finance and human capital.
“truView as a enterprise administration system is in a league of its personal, surpassing all different expertise options we’ve got come throughout,” Rohr stated in an announcement.
Advyzon-based truView, unveiled last month, offers enterprise insights, shopper info, portfolio administration, danger metrics, and planning and funding administration options in an embedded, single-source expertise.
“This can be very validating to listen to Charlie and Paul affirm that the EAS enterprise platform aligns with their shopper philosophy and method,” stated tru CEO Amit Dogra.
After gaining $1 billion in new belongings in 2022, tru added of $1 billion AUM Seven Mile Advisory in NYC in April. Extra just lately, the agency added $300 million AUM Crossover Capital Advisors in Yardley, Penn.
Coastal Bridge Advisors Promotes Jeff Kalapos to Chief Funding Officer
Coastal Bridge Advisors, a bicoastal boutique unbiased RIA with some $2.6 billion in belongings throughout fewer than 350 purchasers, introduced the agency promoted Jeff Kalapos to chief funding officer.
Beforehand within the position of director of funding companies, a place he held for 5 years, Kalapos will proceed to concentrate on funding technique and oversee exterior supervisor relationships in his new position, along with taking up a bigger promotional position on the agency.
Kalapos spent the primary two years of his profession working at Merrill Lynch with Coastal Bridge predecessors earlier than leaving to hitch the Royal Financial institution of Scotland in 2007. In 2014, he rejoined his former colleagues at Coastal Bridge, serving within the roles of help advisor and planning affiliate earlier than transferring into his most up-to-date position in 2018.
“Not solely has Jeff made important contributions to Coastal Bridge Advisors professionally, however he has additionally confirmed himself to be a beautiful particular person and colleague,” Coastal Bridge President Jeff Fuhrman stated in an announcement.
Kalapos performed a key position in creating the Coastal Bridge funding administration program and helped to extend belongings by round 25%, together with 10% development in shopper accounts. With a grasp’s diploma in enterprise, he just lately earned his CFA certification and holds a Chartered Funding Administration Analyst designation.
Coastal Bridge has places of work in Los Angeles and Westport, Conn.