Acquisition pushes Sequoia Financial over $10 billion

The Ohio-based advisory firm adds its second Buckeye State RIA this year with the purchase of NCA Financial Planners.

Sequoia Financial Group is entering the ranks of $10 billion advisory firms with the pending acquisition of NCA Financial Planners.

Sequoia, which is already an $8 billion registered investment adviser based in Akron, Ohio, will add $2 billion in assets through its purchase of Mayfield Heights, Ohio-based NCA. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.

“Sequoia has officially joined the elite group of meta RIAs that will be shaping the industry,” said David DeVoe, managing director at DeVoe & Co.

“This transaction is another marker on Sequoia’s accelerating path toward becoming one of the industry’s leading firms,” DeVoe said. “The industry continues to experience record-high valuations.”

According to DeVoe’s research on RIA consolidation, transactions in this $1 billion to $5 billion segment have spiked from 25 deals in 2019 to more than 55 so far this year.

The firm will operate under the Sequoia brand and employ approximately 145 people, including 27 NCA employees. NCA founder and Chief Executive Kevin Myeroff will become principal and senior strategic adviser and a shareholder in Sequoia.

“As part of our strategic, long-term succession plan, NCA carefully outlined the type of firm we want to join, and we enthusiastically chose Sequoia,” Myeroff said in a statement. “Both firms share a mission centered around enriching lives by building enduring relationships and providing excellence in client service.”

NCA was founded 36 years ago and has grown to $2 billion completely organically, without making acquisitions.

This marks the second deal this year for Sequoia, following its June acquisition of Wealthstone Advisors.

“We have long admired the stellar work Kevin and the NCA team have done on behalf of their clients,” said Thomas Haught, Sequoia’s president and CEO, said in the statement.

“Adding their 27 talented individuals to work in concert with our team will enhance our clients’ experience,” he said. “Additionally, when we join forces, we will continue to reinvest in our specialists to stay on the forefront of technology, asset management and wealth planning.”

The cash and stock deal will result in NCA’s leadership team becoming equity shareholders in Sequoia.