United Capital Acquires $170M financial planning firm

United Capital Financial Advisers today announced the acquisition of financial planning firm Vantage Point Advisors. Vantage Point, which manages $170 million in assets, will now operate under the name of United Capital Private Wealth Counseling. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. United Capital has been growing at a torrid pace since it was launched chief executive Joseph Duran in 2005, buying 34 investment advisers over the past five years. The firm now has 29 offices across the country and is well on the way to becoming “the nation’s first national wealth counseling firm,” Mr. Duran said. United Capital has $13 billion in assets under management, with about half of that figure coming from institutional businesses. The firm is predominantly fee-based, according to Mr. Duran, although it earns commissions selling life insurance and long-term-care products. Mr. Duran, who previously worked for Centurion Capital Group Inc., which was sold to General Electric Co. in 2001, is adamant that United Capital is not a roll-up of stand-alone advisory practices. “We want a consistent methodology in the wealth management process at all our offices. We do all the technology, administration and compliance for the firms we acquire, and we all report on the same ADV,” he said. “We are not a roll-up.” Mr. Duran added that he is looking for one key characteristic in the firms he considers acquiring: “They must be culturally aligned with us in terms of a devotion to client interests,” he said. As evidence of that devotion, Mr. Duran said he looks for low employee turnover and a commitment to training and education by a firm’s lead advisers. He also wants a clear vision of how United Capital can improve the operations of a potential acquisition, whether on the expenses side of the equation or in the advisory services it offers. “We need to be accretive to their business, rather than the other way around,” he said. “The firms we acquire typically grow revenues by 35% in the first twelve months after we buy them.” Mr. Duran plans on additional acquisitions, adding up to $2 billion in assets this year, and eventually, he plans to open up offices in Atlanta, Denver, New York, Los Angeles, Phoenix, St. Louis and Portland, Ore.