Steward Companions, Wealth Enhancement Group, Mission Wealth, Buckingham Strategic Companions and Ahead Monetary all introduced acquisitions this week, whereas Mariner Wealth and Savant Wealth introduced on new expertise to facilitate progress and Emigrant Companions and Slate Hill each took minority stakes in rising corporations.
Steward Companions Provides H.L. Wiginton as 1st Group on Pershing Platform and 1st in Alabama
Steward Companions World Advisory, an employee-owned, hybrid partnership of unbiased advisory corporations, recruited its first group on the BNY Mellon | Pershing custodial platform—and its first in Alabama.
H.L. Wiginton Capital Administration, a four-person group led by Mike Wiginton, brings round $220 million to the Steward platform from Cambridge Funding Analysis Advisors. Wiginton joined Cambridge in 2022 after 13 years with Cantella & Co., in response to his SEC registration, following transient stints at Wachovia and A.G. Edwards & Sons.
“I launched H.L. Wiginton 13 years in the past as a result of I needed to have the ability to provide my purchasers greater than what was accessible to me in a wirehouse setting, and that is the identical impetus behind my resolution to affix Steward Companions,” he mentioned in an announcement. “Along with getting access to simpler expertise and companions who may help us streamline and develop our apply, Steward Companions has a tradition that matches our personal by placing purchasers’ pursuits on the forefront of every little thing we do.”
The group consists of Tom Ferrell, vp and monetary advisor; Luke Ferrell, monetary advisor; and Kristi Alexander, workplace supervisor and gross sales assistant.
Launched in 2013 with one advisor and round $100 million in property underneath administration, Steward has since grown to greater than $23 billion in shopper property throughout greater than 350 companions, primarily by the recruitment of breakaway wirehouse advisors.
Final fall, the agency secured a $140 million credit score facility to expedite recruiting following the transfer to a multicustodial mannequin, which CEO Greg Banasz mentioned “opened up the floodgates” of recent recruits.
“Look for lots of motion,” he mentioned of the primary half of 2023.
Wealth Enhancement Group Provides $371M Hybrid RIA Legacy Monetary Planning
Wealth Enhancement Group, a Minneapolis-based aggregator of wealth administration corporations with greater than $60.6 billion in whole shopper property, acquired Legacy Monetary Planning—a hybrid RIA with workplaces in Rochester and Oswego, N.Y. and Naples, Fla.
With greater than $371 million in shopper property, together with $87 million in held brokerage accounts, Legacy is led by co-founders CEO Tammy Mogilski and President Brian Bedford. Together with a group of three advisors and 4 help workers, the agency provides monetary planning, funding administration, retirement earnings planning, property planning and life insurance coverage planning to people nearing or in retirement.
“After many months of cautious consideration in our seek for the fitting strategic associate with an identical tradition and confirmed historical past of progress and success, we’re excited to associate with Wealth Enhancement Group,” Bedford mentioned in an announcement. “Their agency supplies the assets we’re searching for to take our providers to the subsequent degree.”
“This partnership will present their group with the assets and help wanted to allow additional skilled progress and improve the service that their purchasers obtain,” mentioned Jim Cahn, WEG’s chief investments and enterprise growth officer. “We look ahead to collaborating with and studying from the group as we develop collectively.”
Advisor Development Methods, a administration consulting and transaction advisory agency serving the RIA trade, served as Legacy Monetary Planning’s transaction advisor.
Based in 1997, WEG now has over 85 workplaces serving 50,000 households nationwide. The agency has added greater than $6 billion in property since late September.
Mission Wealth Merges with Murphy Capital Advisors
Mission Wealth, a $5.3 billion RIA integrator out of Santa Barbara, Calif., introduced a merger with Murphy Capital Advisors, a $110 million apply west of Phoenix, Ariz.
Based in 2005 by Matt Murphy, Murphy Capital supplies boutique wealth administration providers for purchasers all through Arizona and in Illinois. The agency will undertake Mission branding, per its acquisition mannequin, and develop its capabilities within the Arizona market.
“I’m thrilled to take my solo apply to a agency with such a powerful management group, high quality help infrastructure, expertise stack and a philosophy of placing purchasers first,” Murphy mentioned in an announcement. “I knew that merging with Mission Wealth can be the fiduciary and the fitting factor to do to assist my purchasers and to proceed to develop.”
All through his profession, Murphy has held numerous management roles throughout the Nationwide Affiliation of Private Monetary Advisors and the CFP Board, the place he helped codify the fiduciary requirement for all CFP professionals, in addition to served on the board of the Monetary Planning Affiliation’s Phoenix chapter.
“Matt represents the very best moral requirements in our trade and has constantly led by instance together with his client-first, fiduciary method,” mentioned Mission President Dannell Stuart. “His quite a few management roles with the CFP Board and the Nationwide Affiliation of Private Monetary Advisors are examples of his dedication to the monetary planning occupation.”
“After visiting his workplace in Arizona and assembly his household, Matt Murphy firmly represents the values and caring method that function the muse of Mission Wealth,” mentioned Mission co-founder and Chief Affect Officer Seth Streeter. I look ahead to a thriving partnership collectively and to increasing our attain within the Phoenix area.”
Based in 2000, serves greater than 2,000 purchasers. Final summer time, Streeter defined to podcaster Michael Kitces that the agency’s acquisition mannequin is extra of an “acquihire,” underneath which the agency is including fascinating expertise by the M&A course of. Nevertheless it’s not Mission’s solely progress gambit. Along with providing scholarships by the CFP Board to help the event of younger professionals, the agency is actively reaching out to deliver collectively teams inside its numerous communities.
“We positively have clear plans so far as the place the agency goes,” he informed Kitces. “We need to be form of thought leaders in these areas of influence with extra values-based planning, values-based investing, doing group work.”
The purpose is to succeed in $30 billion in property throughout the subsequent eight years, he mentioned.
Mariner Wealth Advisors Hires Todd Cassler to Speed up Development Technique
Mariner Wealth Advisors introduced that Todd Cassler will be part of its Enterprise Management Group because the agency’s chief technique & progress officer.
Cassler is becoming a member of Mariner following practically two years of fast growth on the agency, throughout which greater than 25 acquisitions have been accomplished. He might be charged with constructing on the present trajectory because it continues so as to add new advisors and capabilities to its platform.
He joins Mariner from John Hancock and Manulife Funding Administration, the place he was president of economic establishments and advisory options and the top of institutional distribution for the U.S. and Europe. Throughout 16 years with the agency, Cassler was answerable for gross sales, shopper service and relationship administration for the RIA and the agency’s dealer/supplier platform, in addition to the financial institution belief, world monetary establishments, insurance coverage belief platform and extra. His expertise additionally consists of roles as vp at Neuberger Berman and nationwide distribution growth supervisor at American Skandia.
“I’ve recognized Todd for years, and I’ve the utmost respect for the influence he has had on the expansion of John Hancock’s enterprise,” Mariner CEO Marty Bicknell mentioned in an announcement. “Todd’s robust status and relationships throughout the trade will assist us develop in new arenas and can complement the prevailing strengths of our Enterprise Management Group.
Cassler will lead natural and inorganic progress initiatives, together with company growth, advisor recruiting, referral associate applications, conventional enterprise growth, advisory options and specialty applications. His focus might be on driving enterprise progress throughout all enterprise items, together with its ultra-high-net-worth apply and the Mariner Advisor Community platform, whereas increasing providers for current purchasers.
“All through my profession, I’ve had the chance to work with the most effective and brightest within the trade,” mentioned Cassler. “[Mariner] has proven great progress and has a wonderful monitor document of success, and I’m wanting ahead to enjoying a job in its subsequent stage of growth.”
Primarily based in Mariner’s Dedham, Mass. workplace, Cassler’s first day was January 31.
Emigrant Companions Takes Stake in SteelPeak Wealth
Emigrant Companions made its second funding of the yr with a strategic, non-voting minority stake in SteelPeak Wealth, a hybrid RIA headquartered in Los Angeles, managing $2 billion in property for over 1,700 purchasers.
The partnership will present SteelPeak with capital and strategic assets to help the agency in its subsequent part of progress, in response to the announcement.
“We have been very deliberate in our choice course of for a strategic associate—the cultural match and alignment on our future imaginative and prescient was paramount, and sustaining our independence was important,” SteelPeak CEO Reza Zamani mentioned in an announcement. “EP checked all of the containers. We consider they’ll assist us to appreciate our progress aims, throughout natural, M&A and advisor recruitment, quicker.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome the SteelPeak group to the Emigrant Companions community,” mentioned Emigrant CEO and President Karl Heckenberg. “We have been totally impressed with their shopper engagement mannequin, proprietary funding administration capabilities and natural progress engine. SteelPeak is well-positioned for future progress with a robust base within the Southern California market, and a rising presence in engaging wealth markets resembling Dallas and Miami.”
“At this stage of our progress, we wish to proceed to boost our capabilities for our purchasers and develop our footprint,” added SteelPeak CIO Maziar Esmailbeigi. “EP has a confirmed monitor document of serving to their associate corporations differentiate and ship shopper outcomes to a broader, nationwide shopper base.”
Emigrant Companions is owned by Emigrant Financial institution and is at the moment invested in 19 corporations overseeing greater than $86 billion in combination property. The agency’s funding mannequin permits companions to retain management over technique, funding choices and day-to-day operations, in response to the announcement.
Ahead Monetary Joins Grove Level for Advertising, Investments and Open Structure
Grove Level Monetary, a dealer/supplier and funding advisory platform in Rockland, Md., introduced the addition of Ahead Monetary, a Baltimore-based agency managing $34 million in property.
Headed by Aaron Polun, Ahead Monetary provides fee-based planning and wealth and funding administration to people present process key life occasions, resembling retirement, divorce or a profession change.
“As an skilled monetary skilled, Aaron is dedicated to serving to his purchasers on the trail to monetary success, significantly throughout difficult occasions of their lives,” mentioned Rob Engle, Grove Level’s government VP of enterprise growth. “We look ahead to partnering with him as we acclimate Ahead Monetary into our tradition of service and help.”
The transfer to Grove Level was pushed by a need to make the most of the agency’s open-architecture platform, funding choices, advertising and expanded providers, in response to the announcement. Ahead will leverage Grove Level’s assets to succeed in extra purchasers, whereas Polun stays unbiased. Ahead Monetary plans to develop throughout Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and the Washington, D.C., metro space by attracting extra fee-based and funding administration purchasers.
A subsidiary of Kestra Holdings, Grove Level Monetary supplies dealer/supplier and RIA providers to greater than 500 monetary professionals nationwide.
Buckingham Strategic Wealth Opens Two New Workplaces
Buckingham Strategic Wealth introduced the official openings of its forty ninth and fiftieth places with the addition of Oxford Monetary Companions within the metro Cincinnati space and Convergent Monetary Methods in Philadelphia.
Each groups have adopted Buckingham branding however have maintained their particular person SEC registrations.
“We’re thrilled with the chance to develop our nationwide footprint and join with much more households,” Buckingham wrote in a LinkedIn put up Thursday.
Run by Managing Director Alan Schapire and CIO Carl Nadwodny, the Convergent group oversees roughly $174 million in shopper property throughout 85 purchasers. The deal was first introduced in December.
“Buckingham and Convergent share great synergies,” mentioned Adam Birenbaum, CEO of Buckingham Strategic Wealth. “Similar to us, they’re devoted to offering purchasers with a high-touch, customized expertise each step of the best way. Their tax preparation and planning experience is a superb addition to Buckingham’s wealth of information.
“By partnering with Buckingham, we’re capable of broaden our collective knowledge and assets to help our purchasers for years to return,” mentioned Nadwodny.
The Oxford acquisition, introduced earlier this month, provides one other $278 million in property managed by Erik Christman and his group.
“By becoming a member of Buckingham, we will draw from their expansive assets, expertise and nationwide footprint to positively influence the lives of our purchasers now and sooner or later,” Christman unhappy, “all whereas retaining the personalization of an area agency.”
“The group at Oxford is pushed by a people-first philosophy,” mentioned Birenbaum. “We look ahead to leveraging our operational scale so as to add to their high-touch wealth administration expertise and to establishing our footprint within the metro Cincinnati space and past.”
Headquartered in St. Louis, Buckingham Strategic Wealth manages round $20 billion in regulatory property underneath administration.
In different M&A information…
Savant Wealth employed a brand new head of M&A away from competitor The Mather Group, and Mission Wealth acquired a minority stake in XO Wealth Administration.