Creative Planning inks RVK deal to add $4.3 trillion in institutional assets

Creative Planning has agreed to acquire RVK Inc., a Portland, Oregon-based institutional investment consulting firm that advises on approximately $4.3 trillion in client assets, the mega-RIA announced Tuesday.

The transaction, expected to close in January pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, marks one of the largest expansions yet in the Overland Park, Kansas-based registered investment advisor's yearslong campaign to build out capabilities beyond traditional retail wealth management.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Goldman Sachs & Co. is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Creative Planning on the deal.

RVK, founded more than 40 years ago, provides non-discretionary investment consulting to just over 200 institutional clients, including public and private retirement plans, endowments, foundations, insurance companies and health systems. Its services span investment policy development, asset allocation, asset and liability studies, manager research and selection, performance measurement, operational diligence and governance consulting. The firm's current management team will remain in place following the close.

"RVK has built an exceptional reputation by providing thoughtful, objective advice to some of the country's most complex institutional investors," said Peter Mallouk, president and chief executive of Creative Planning, while underscoring the firm's "deep consulting expertise, rigorous investment research and commitment to putting clients first."

"Together, we'll be able to bring even greater scale, resources and insight to institutions navigating increasingly complex investment and governance decisions," he added.

RVK chief executive Josh Kevan pointed to the firms' shared belief "that clients are best served through independent, objective advice, deep expertise and solutions customized to meet their specific needs," as well as the opportunity to "[provide] our clients and employees with access to broader resources, technology and capabilities."

The RVK deal extends a strategy Creative Planning has pursued for several years now: layering institutional and retirement-focused businesses on top of its core retail advisory platform.

That approach has accelerated across the wealth management industry more broadly, with larger RIAs expanding their horizons to capture more supersized, sophisticated institutional books. Among the most notable examples last year were Mariner's mega-purchase of Cardinal Investment Advisors and Cresset's deal to acquire Monticello Associates.

A busy year of strategic dealmaking

The RVK announcement is the latest in a string of transactions Creative Planning, which reports more than $780 billion in assets under management or advisement as of June 30, has completed over roughly the past 12 months.

In July, the firm added a commercial insurance brokerage to its roster of specialty acquisitions, picking up Kansas City-based Lovell Insurance Group and bringing three of its principals in-house to handle complex commercial insurance and surety work for upper middle-market businesses.

This year also saw the firm expand overseas for the first time, acquiring Swiss RIA Baseline Wealth Management in January before following with the purchase of London-based MASECO, a firm managing more than $5 billion in assets that specializes in cross-border planning for American families living abroad.

Creative Planning has also pushed into the retirement plan and 529 savings markets. The firm acquired SageView Advisory Group, a retirement plan consulting business that added a scaled book of defined contribution plan clients to its platform last year, then built on that with the additon of Seattle-based Duncan & Haley in March.

Last month, Creative Planning announced it was named the new investment manager for Mississippi's 529 college savings plan, working alongside plan administrator Catalis to redesign the program's investment lineup and reduce fees for account holders.