Onetime E*Trade unit snagged in reported LBO

Two Boston-area advisory firms are merging to create a firm with over 2,000 clients and more than $2 billion in assets under management. Newton, Ma.-based Adviser Investments will acquire Kobren Insight Management, also of Newton. Together, the firms will have over 45 investment professionals. Financial details about the deal were not disclosed, According to website RIABiz, however, the deal was a leveraged buyout involving 14 partners from Adviser Investments and six partners from Kobren. "This combination allows us to increase the scale of our operations while adding more depth to our team of researchers and portfolio managers," Dan Silver, president of Adviser Investments, said in a press release. "It's a great opportunity for all involved, but most importantly for our clients." Dan Wiener, founder and chairman of Adviser Investments, and Jim Lowell, chief investment officer, are both well-known for newsletters they produce that follow the fund families of The Vanguard Group Inc. and Fidelity Investments. Kobren Insight Management previously was owned by E*Trade Financial Corp., and the sale of the firm marks an end to the discount brokerage's short-lived strategy of entering the advisory business by rolling up independent advisory practices. E*Trade formerly sold two other advisory firms: Retirement Advisors of America for $80 million in 2008 and Howard Capital Management Inc. in a management buyout.