Mariner acquires employee benefits company

Mariner Wealth Advisors’ latest acquisition isn’t another wealth management firm, but rather a company that provides businesses with financial wellness benefits for their employees.

Mariner announced that it acquired Spring in January and is now rebranding it under the name Mariner Financial Wellness, helping the firm become a full-service solution for business owners hoping to provide wealth planning and financial guidance as a benefit. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Debt, savings and general money management are the No. 1 cause of stress for adults under the age of 57 — beating out politics, work and family — according to a recent survey from CreditWise. Providing financial wellness as a benefit increases morale and fosters higher productivity, and 60% of employees say they are more likely to stay with an employer that offers a program to assist with money management.

Retirement plan sponsors are increasingly asked to offer a more comprehensive set of workplace services, including wealth management. For business-owning clients already working with Mariner to create and manage retirement plans, Spring’s services are a natural fit, said Marty Bicknell, CEO and president of Mariner Wealth Advisors.

“The integration of Spring will greatly complement our current retirement service offerings and will allow us to sustain that impact by making financial advice more accessible to employees across the country,” Bicknell said in a statement.

Mariner Financial Wellness will offer an online portal for employees that includes educational content, budgeting tools, goal setting and tracking. It will also provide a financial health and progress summary. These will be complemented by one-on-one financial wellness coaching from a dedicated coach.

Business owners will be able to see aggregated data about employees’ financial concerns and results of the program, such as declining debt and increased savings, while keeping individual employees’ data confidential.

Spring was founded in 2015 by CEO Joe Holberg, who will continue as a managing director at Mariner Wealth Advisors, overseeing the operations of Mariner Financial Wellness.

Mariner and its affiliates now advise on more than $110 billion in assets. The company is an active acquirer of wealth management firms, most recently buying a South Carolina-based firm with $221 million in assets under management. It was Mariner’s fourth acquisition of 2023, not counting the deal for Spring.