Mariner Wealth Advisors acquires $2 billion Patriot Wealth Management

Mariner Wealth Advisors has acquired $2 billion Patriot Wealth Management. The acquisition, which will become effective at the start of 2019, is Mariner's most recent development in its growth strategy and its first venture into Houston. Mariner is based in Overland Park, Kan., and has more than $23 billion in client assets under advisement. It has 26 locations in 19 states, including three Texas offices, in Austin, Dallas and Amarillo, according to its website. (More: RIA firm valuations climbing, but not yet back to 2008 levels) Founded in 2004, Patriot is managed by shareholders Todd Hanslik, Anna Jones, Bill Murski, Jeff Swantkowski and Dana Weinstein. "I am thrilled to welcome Patriot to the Mariner Wealth Advisors family," Marty Bicknell, chief executive and president of Mariner Wealth Advisors, said in a statement. "I met Todd close to 10 years ago at a Fidelity event and was immediately impressed with his leadership quality. He also has close ties to two of our senior leaders, Kevin Corbett and Brian O'Regan, who lead our inorganic growth efforts." Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. (More: Citizens Financial acquires $7.5 billion Clarfeld Financial) Mariner has more than 125 wealth advisers. It supports them with an investment committee and business development team, as well as back-office support in human resources, operations, finance, information technology, marketing, legal and compliance. "Joining Mariner Wealth Advisors allows us to reallocate time spent on back-office functions and refocus our efforts on our valued clients," Mr. Hanslik, co-founder and principal of Patriot, said in a statement.