Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions, the Chicago-based outsourced fiduciary arm of independent financial services firm Mesirow, has agreed to acquire the plan-level 3(38) investment management business of flexPATH Strategies, LLC.
It marks the company's second strategic deal in the outsourced fiduciary space in 2026 and the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
The acquisition expands Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions' reach across the defined contribution market at a time when demand for outsourced fiduciary services among plan sponsors and retirement advisors continues to grow.
The combined firm will oversee approximately $164 billion in assets under management and advisement including $141 billion from Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions and $23 billion from Precision Fiduciary Partners, which Mesirow also acquired earlier in 2026. The platform supports roughly 10,000 financial advisors nationwide.
flexPATH Strategies has built a focused book of business around custom portfolio construction at the plan level, a service that sits at the intersection of ERISA fiduciary compliance and personalized investment strategy for retirement plan participants.
Under ERISA (the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which governs private-sector retirement plans in the United States) a 3(38) fiduciary takes on discretionary authority over a plan's investment decisions, relieving plan sponsors and their advisors of a significant layer of liability.
Advisors operating under a 3(38) arrangement can hand off investment management responsibilities to the fiduciary manager, freeing them to focus on participant education, plan design, and client relationship management.
Michael Annin, CFA, president of Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions, said the deal is designed to broaden what the firm can deliver to advisors and their plan sponsor clients.
"By combining flexPATH's established custom portfolio business with Mesirow's institutional scale, technology infrastructure and fiduciary expertise, we are further enhancing our ability to deliver differentiated retirement solutions," Annin said.
The flexPATH acquisition reflects a broader consolidation trend playing out across the retirement plan services landscape.
As plan sponsors face mounting regulatory scrutiny and demand greater accountability from service providers, outsourced fiduciary models have attracted significant interest from both buyers and sellers. Mesirow's two deals in 2026 signal a deliberate growth strategy aimed at capturing that demand.
"The acquisition of flexPATH's plan-level 3(38) fiduciary business marks our second acquisition in the outsourced fiduciary space this year, demonstrating our bullish view of the outsourced fiduciary space," said Ketan Shah, chief strategy officer and general counsel at Mesirow.
The consolidation of fiduciary service providers raises practical questions about continuity, service levels, and the direction of fees, particularly as larger platforms absorb smaller, more specialized players.
Mesirow, which was founded in 1937 and remains employee-owned, has positioned itself as a firm with the institutional infrastructure to absorb these businesses without disrupting service to existing advisor relationships.
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