Mercer Advisors, which over the past two years has acquired 13 advisory firms with more than $4.2 billion in assets, is doubling down on its acquisition campaign with a string of recent hires to build out its merger and acquisition team.
"The success we've had in growing through acquisitions has bred more success and we needed to add talented members to keep up with demand," said Dave Barton, Mercer's vice chairman in charge of acquisitions.
Mr. Barton was Mercer's chief executive officer for nine years until he moved into his current role late last year. In some respects, his career move is the blueprint for HighTower Advisors, which recently announced that its
CEO, Elliot Weissbluth, would be shifting his role to focus on expanded M&A efforts.
Denver-based Mercer, a firm with 9,000 clients and $12.3 billion under management, recently added targeted M&A managers in three regions of the country to work alongside Mr. Barton to keep the
acquisition momentum moving at a healthy clip.
In the Northeast and Great Lakes regions, Mercer brought on Paul Stetz, who formerly worked in the RIA custody businesses at
Charles Schwab Corp. and
Fidelity Investments.
In the West Coast region, Mr. Barton will work closely with Vince Gimarelli, whose background includes senior management roles at Schwab Advisor Services and two independent registered investment advisory firms.
The Southeast region is being overseen by Sandra Nesbit, who came to Mercer from GFS Private Wealth, an RIA recently acquired by Mercer.
David DeVoe, managing director at the investment bank DeVoe & Co., said Mercer is bulking up its M&A ranks because "the Mercer model is clearly resonating with RIAs."
"Dave Barton's leadership of their M&A activity has made the company one of most active acquirers in the industry, and they are being smart and investing in resources to capitalize on this momentum," Mr. DeVoe said. "Hiring former relationship managers from custodians not only ensures that their new hires have a deep understanding of the RIA business, but they also understand how RIA principals make decisions."
Mr. Barton, who was named CEO of Mercer in June 2008, took the company from $2 billion in assets and 2,000 clients to $11 billion and 7,500 clients when he stepped down as CEO last year.
"I wanted to step down to focus on M&A, which I thought was the greatest growth lever for us, and we had already conquered organic growth," he said. "The company was humming along; I had done what I could do to fully institutionalize the business. It was time for me to step down and just focus on leading M&A for Mercer."
Even though RIA consolidation showed a
slowdown in the most recent quarterly data, the longer-term trend has Mr. Barton believing the consolidation wave is just getting started.
"The market is so active right now, we turn down more deals than we accept," he said. "There are so many sellers coming to market because they want to monetize their assets now. They see this as at or near the top of the market."
Daniel Seivert, CEO of investment bank Echelon Partners, agreed that the timing is right for acquiring RIAs and credited Mercer with the foresight to beef up its M&A bench.
"To be a great buyer, it is very important to offer sellers that are exploring their options a high-quality solution for their clients, their employees and the founders of the business," Mr. Seivert said. "Given the diversity of seller types, there is no one-size-fits-all buyer."
