Mercer Global Advisors is kicking off 2021 as the top acquirer of registered investment advisers.
On Wednesday, the $25 billion Denver-based aggregator announced its fourth acquisition so far this year of an RIA with at least $800 million in client assets. The deal for Scottsdale, Arizona-based Rowland Carmichael Advisors, which serves 240 clients with more than $850 million in assets, follows three other announcements in the past eight days.
The deals announced previously include: Kays Financial Advisory, an $800 million Atlanta-based firm; Atlanta Financial Associates, an $815 million firm also based in Atlanta; and McGee Wealth Management, an $800 million firm based in Portland, Oregon.
Like Mercer, Rowland Carmichael is marketed as a multifamily office. The RIA was founded in 1986 by Tim Rowland and David Carmichael.
“David and I have built a family office business with a team of dedicated professionals that share that level of commitment and excellence to our valued clients,” Rowland said in a statement. “While we have a strong team and great next generation talent and leadership, David and I realized that we needed to find a like-minded partner that could not only provide a business continuity plan for us, our clients, and staff, but also help us scale and leverage of our operation.”
Dave Barton, who heads transactions at Mercer, also said the deal was largely about helping the RIA attain scale, even though the firm had grown into a comprehensive wealth management business.
“What they lacked, however, was the requisite scale and leverage they wanted so they could spend more time doing the things they loved like serving clients and winning new ones,” Barton said in the statement. “Like many business owners, wearing multiple hats drains your time and talent, and it prevents high quality professionals from maximizing their highest and best use.”
[ESG Video: Making of ‘Flowers in the River’]
The "Crypto Mom" departure would leave the SEC commission with just two members and no Democratic commissioners on the panel.
IFP Securities’ owner, Bill Hamm, has a long-term plan for the firm and its 279 financial advisors.
Meanwhile, a Osaic and Envestnet ink a new adaptive wealthtech partnership to better support the firm's 10,000-plus advisors, and RIA-focused VastAdvisor unveils native integrations with leading CRMs.
A former Alabama investment advisor and ex-Kestra rep has been permanently barred and penalized after clients he promised to protect got caught in a $2.6 million fraud.
As more active strategies get packaged into the ETF wrapper, advisors and investors have to look beyond expense ratios as the benchmark for value.
Wellington explores how multi strategy hedge funds may enhance diversification
As technical expertise becomes increasingly commoditized, advisors who can integrate strategy, relationships, and specialized expertise into a cohesive client experience will define the next era of wealth management
