Mercer Advisors names Dave Welling CEO

After nine years heading the advisory firm, David Barton is out.

Mercer Advisors, a $10.3 billion advisory firm, has replaced Chief Executive David Barton with Dave Welling.

Mr. Barton, 51, will move into the role of vice chairman and will lead the firm’s newly created merger-and-acquisition efforts, according to a statement from the company.

“After a successful nine-year run as CEO, I have decided to step down and reduce my responsibilities and role at Mercer,” said Mr. Barton, who added that Mr. Welling’s “public company experience and his expertise in technology and digital enterprise solutions will allow Mercer to continue to expand its investment services and digital experiences for clients.”

Mr. Welling most recently worked as co-general manager of SS&C Advent, a division of SS&C Technologies. He was responsible for SS&C’s advisory market unit, which works with nearly 3,000 advisers.

Mr. Welling became part of SS&C in 2015 when the company acquired Advent Software, which he joined in 2011.