Forum Financial merges with Pinnacle Wealth Management

Forum Financial Management LLC today said it’s merging with Pinnacle Wealth Management to create an advisory firm with $500 million in assets. The combined firm, which will operate as Forum Financial, will be based in Lombard, Ill., and will have offices in Skokie, Ill., and Richmond, Va. The registered investment advisory firm will have 20 employees, including 10 advisers. There was no buyout involved, and it was a merger of two like-minded firms, said Norm Mindel, a certified financial planner and founding partner of Forum. “These are people we’ve worked with for a very long time,” he said, referring to Pinnacle. “We’re very comfortable. We have very similar philosophies. There’s really no bump as far the client experience. It’s the same approach we’ve been using.” The combined firm will focus on offering a full range of fee-based and wealth management services. Mr. Mindel said this partnership has allowed the firm to create a specific succession plan in case one of the key partners dies. “If you get hit by a bus, then someone is around,” he said. “At least clients are comforted by the fact that there’s more than one person if they need to access someone or if something happens to one of us.”