Savant Wealth Management enters Maine with latest acquisition

Savant Wealth Management, has closed a partnership with Richard Brothers Financial Advisors, giving the firm its first office in Maine.

The move in the Northeast adds a nine-person team in South Portland with approximately $240.4 million in assets under management to the fee-only RIA's book, it said in a statement Tuesday.

The Maine expansion brings Savant's footprint to 70 offices across 28 states and marks the firm's fourth acquisition since March, continuing an active run of dealmaking that has made Savant one of the wealth management industry's more prolific consolidators this year.

Read more: The Bahnsen Group, Savant make senior leadership appointments

A brotherly practice built on 'whole picture' planning

Richard Brothers Financial Advisors was founded in 1996 by brothers Randall Richard, the firm's president and chief compliance officer, and Neal Richard, its principal and chief operating officer.

The firm built its practice around what it calls a "Whole Picture Planning" approach, folding investment management, retirement and tax planning, risk management and long-term goal setting into a single strategy for business owners navigating a sale or transition, along with families, executives and retirees across Maine.

Randall and Neal Richard join Savant as member-owners, along with director of Client Relations Zachary Lauzon and director of Internal Operations Laura Linscott. The remainder of the Richard Brothers team joins as Savant employees, and the office will continue operating out of its existing South Portland location.

Brent Brodeski, founder and chief executive of Savant Wealth Management, called the Richard Brothers team's planning ethos "a natural complement to how Savant serves clients," while highlighting how the Maine group's "specialty in guiding business owners through transition can help add real depth to our capabilities in the region."

Randall Richard said his firm evaluated the move using the same full-picture approach it uses to counsel clients.

"We evaluated this decision the same way we help our clients evaluate theirs, by looking at the full picture," he said. "Savant stood out because of its alignment with our values, its planning-driven philosophy, and the breadth of resources it can help bring to our clients."

"Our clients will continue working with the same team, from the same office, with the same focus on their long-term goals," Neal Richard added.

A sixth deal since the end of March

The Maine partnership extends a string of acquisitions that included a busy spring for Savant.

In late May, the firm closed on Meridian Wealth Advisors, an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based practice that also brought over the affiliated Meridian Tax Advisors. That deal added advisor Scott Floersheim and his roughly $168 million book of business, giving Savant a second office in New Mexico alongside its existing Santa Fe location.

The month prior, Savant closed two partnerships on the same day: North Ridge Wealth Advisors, a Beaverton, Oregon-based practice founded by Brian Lawrence, and Desmond Wealth Management, a Walnut Creek, California-based firm with a long-standing focus on integrated wealth and tax planning.

At the end of March, Savant announced a partnership with Oklahoma-based Exencial Wealth Advisors, whose $6 billion in AUM made it Savant's largest transaction to date by assets under management 

Savant, which is celebrating its 40th year in business, reported approximately $55.7 billion in assets under management and $1.5 billion in assets under advisement as of June 30.