Modern Wealth Management goes from zero to $1.5 billion with first deal

Three weeks after launching as a new aggregator in the RIA space, Modern Wealth Management has locked down its first deal with the acquisition of Barber Financial Group, a collection of three advisory firms that combine for $1.5 billion in client assets.

Because Modern Wealth is a private equity-backed aggregator without an existing tech platform or custodial relationship, Barber’s existing platforms and service providers will effectively become the Modern Wealth offering that will be used to help recruit other RIA sellers.

“You could think of this as us joining their platform,” said Modern Wealth president Jason Gordo.

Lenexa, Kansas-based Barber Financial Group was founded in 1996 by Chief Executive Dean Barber and over the past 20 years its has allowed Osiwala Financial Group and Financial Security to operate under its RIA.

The three advisory firms, which combine for 50 employees and 2,300 clients, will be rebranded as Modern Wealth Management.

As part of the acquisition, Barber Financial’s existing radio show and podcast will provide Modern Wealth with an opportunity to showcase its expertise in wealth management to a loyal audience and prospective clients. The firm aims to create informative and engaging content that attracts potential clients seeking financial guidance, according to the announcement.

“I have loved building the RIA to the point where it is today, but I don’t have any expertise in M&A and integration, and I didn’t want to take my eye off the ball and my RIA,” Barber said.

Modern Wealth, formed by former executives from Goldman Sachs and United Capital, launched with $200 million worth of private equity backing from Crestview Partners.

Gordo described the deal as “our launching point” and said Barber Financial Group will be the foundation for Modern Wealth Management.

“The way Dean runs the practice is the way we want to build out,” Gordo said.

At the April 5 launch, Gordo said Modern Wealth's goal is to become a multibillion-dollar company by the end of the year.

But exactly what that company might look like is remains to be seen because Gordo said the future will depend on feedback from clients and advisors.

“One of the great lessons from our past is that we need to listen to clients and advisors,” he said. “As we bring on more teams we’ll want to learn what they do well. Now it’s our job to go in and listen to clients and advisors and find out what we need and what we can do differently.”