Buckingham snaps up $400M wealth manager

The Buckingham Family of Financial Services today announced a merger with Wealth Management Consultants LLC. Both firms focus on using passive investment strategies. Buckingham, which has about $12 billion under management, is a partner with Focus Financial Partners LLC, a consolidator of registered investment adviser firms. WMC manages $400 million for clients. The transaction was arranged with the "guidance and resources" of Focus Financial, Buckingham said in a statement. WMC will maintain its name and continue to be led by co-founder Irv Rothenberg, and financial planners Thelia Eagan and Brent Thomas. "We are looking to create the center of the passive universe at Buckingham,” Adam Birenbaum, a Buckingham principal, said in a statement. Mr. Birenbaum will be succeeding Bert Schweizer as chief executive of Buckingham in January.