Creative Planning adds Mesirow’s retirement plan advisory team

Creative Planning said Tuesday that it is acquiring Chicago-based Mesirow’s corporate retirement plan team, which oversees more than 350 retirement plans with roughly $13 billion in assets under advisement and management.

The announcement comes just a couple of months after Creative Planning struck a deal to acquire Goldman Sachs’ RIA, Personal Financial Management, with $29 billion in assets and a few hundred advisors. That deal is expected to close by year-end.

Creative Planning’s retirement services practice already oversees more than $137 billion in assets under advisement.

"The acquisition of Mesirow's corporate retirement team is additive to our existing Retirement Services offering as it brings together industry thought leaders that will continue to expand the comprehensive services available from Creative Planning to plan sponsors and participants," Carly Bell, head of retirement services at Creative Planning, who led the acquisition, said in a statement.

The retirement advisory services team at Mesirow is led by David Dermenjian, Chris Pohlman, Vince Allegra and Chuck Lawless. Twenty-three team members will join Creative Planning, including eight advisors.

"As our business grew, we understood the need to find greater scale and resources," Dermenjian said in the statement. "Our primary goal is to partner with plan sponsors and their employees to drive positive outcomes by providing innovative solutions and best in class client service. Joining Creative Planning allows us to deliver a new set of products, solutions and technologies to our current and future clients, and we're excited to be part of one of the largest independent RIAs in the country."

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