You Work Hard for Your Clients.
Partner with Us and We’ll Work Hard for You.
You put a lot into building your RIA. So, when it comes to RIA succession planning or reaching the next step of growth, you want to know you’ll get what you’re worth, your staff will thrive, and above all, your clients will be well cared for. Whether you’re thinking about retiring or becoming part of a firm with more resources for growth, talk to Mercer Advisors.
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Why Come to Mercer Advisors for Your Next Chapter?
Offer more services to your clients
Our family office services, like in-house estate planning and tax planning and returns, are big reasons why many owners come to us when considering selling an RIA.
We offer more services and expertise than most RIAs in the industry—including financial planning, estate planning, investment planning, tax planning and preparation, and corporate trustees—all under one roof.
You get a team of in-house investment strategists, CPAs1, estate planning attorneys2, and trust specialists to help manage your clients’ wealth, so you can offer more high-quality services than ever before. In fact, each Mercer Advisors client with more than $1 million in assets under our management receives a complimentary estate plan.
From the very beginning, Mercer Advisors has held itself to the highest of standards to always act in our clients’ best interests. We have, and always will, act in a fiduciary capacity.
Get a fair and competitive valuation for your business
While most wealth management companies choose only one type of valuation method for RIA acquisitions, we triangulate three methods to derive an industry-leading offer.
That includes discounted cash flow analysis, multiple of net income, and multiple of revenue. This gives you a 360-degree view of your business and a competitive offer that you can feel confident about when selling an RIA. With dozens of acquisitions under our belts, we understand how to complete deals tailored to the goals of each firm.
Focus on what you love
Mercer Advisors’ scale helps you do the life planning for yourself that you’ve been doing for your clients. We take the middle- and back-office burden off your plate, allowing you more time to focus on your passions.
If you want to keep advising clients, we’ll enable you to focus 100% on meeting their financial needs. That’s because our teams handle all activities, such as compliance, IT, accounting, HR, marketing, and legal, so you can do more of what you love, with less administrative burden. If you’d prefer to design a life after ownership, we’ll help you with RIA succession planning, too.
Grow your business
Like most RIAs that join us, you’ll benefit from our growth engines, which means you’ll get more business and enjoy it more fully.
That’s because we’re one of the fastest growing wealth managers in the industry, so you get more opportunities coming through the door. The best part is, you don’t have to spend time on business development, because our dedicated salesforce does it for you. We’re the only national RIA to receive referrals from the national exclusive referral programs: Schwab, TD Ameritrade, E*Trade, and Fidelity.
All in all, RIAs that join us triple the amount of business they handle, while focusing on the part they love and earning more in the bargain.
Take advantage of career opportunities
We offer professional fulfillment and leadership opportunities for you and your employees, so you’re well taken care of today and tomorrow.
Our size and scale provide clear career paths, with robust training programs and attractive compensation packages. Our advisors have a path to progress up the ladder, from office manager, to regional director, to managing director managing multiple regions across the country. You and your employees can enjoy full careers here at Mercer Advisors.
Know the process will go smoothly
Our dedicated Integration Team has integrated many RIAs like yours into Mercer Advisors, so you can trust the transition to Mercer systems and practices to happen seamlessly.
Because we’re an integrator, not an aggregator, we don’t just buy organizations without blending the client experience. We think of ourselves as the ”Mayo Clinic” of wealth management. We develop best practices in each role, department, branch, and region, then bring them to everyone at all levels and locations. This enables our financial planners, accountants, lawyers, and other professionals in all our offices to offer your clients the same high-level experience of doing business on a personal level.
Our digital client onboarding process creates an easy and seamless transition from first contact through digital processing, with convenient features such as DocuSign digital document signing, streamlined account opening paperwork, and account registration.
It’s all supported by our robust technology systems, including:
- Salesforce, featuring an Executive Dashboard that aggregates data to give you a full view of the business
- eMoney financial planning software and its single-sign-on client portal, which have the same interface to ensure ease of use for you and your clients
- Envestnet, the well-known turnkey asset management platform (TAMP)
All of these systems are overseen by our world-class IT department.
With Mercer Advisors, you can rest assured that your clients will get top advisory assistance with a unified customer experience that makes it easy for them, and for you, to do business.
Our Strategic Acquisitions
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They had the scale that we wanted, and that was really important to me … I wanted the scale to make sure I could say to clients: “We are bringing you the absolute best in investment and service resources.”
I had built a successful and growing practice but had reached the limits of my capacity. To continue to add clients and grow I had to reinvent my business. To use industry vernacular, I had to build it or join it…Partnering with Mercer Advisors had appeal for me because they take over onerous back-office responsibilities, and offer in-house family office services like estate planning, tax, etc., that my clients can utilize. For me it was a win, and for my clients it was a win, a true ‘win-win’.
We had lots of interest in our firm … After meeting with Dave Barton, Mercer Advisors Vice Chairman heading up mergers and acquisitions, the choice was clear – Mercer Advisors was the perfect fit for us. Dave Barton addressed all our questions and concerns including painting an exciting picture of what the future holds for our team and clients.
The criteria I had in seeking a partner was, first, we needed to share core values regarding clients and people. Second, I wanted to offload back office responsibilities and needed to know they would be managed at the highest level. Third, it was important to me that my team had career path opportunities with our new partner.
Argosy and Mercer Advisors share the same client focused values, and I love that the company is deeply loyal to their staff like us and have defined career path opportunities for them. In Mercer Advisors, we have found the right home for our clients and staff.
When it came time for us to discuss our own succession plan and business continuity strategy, we wanted to make sure our clients continued to receive the highest quality of care. To that end, we looked for a partner that shared our ‘client first’ mindset and could deliver on the promise of the highest caliber financial stewardship.
Beacon’s vision and mission was and is to comprehensively serve the needs of our clients and do so with the utmost integrity and highest acumen. We’ve done that. In searching for a partner to ensure continuity for my team and clients it was critical to me to find a firm that shared my business values and commitment to our fiduciary standard for financial planning and comprehensively serving the needs of our clients.
While other firms could offer similar terms, what was most important to me was finding the perfect convergence of what is right for our clients, our employees, and our stakeholders. As a fiduciary, I believe that every decision we make must pass through a filter which asks ‘Is this good for the client?’ Mercer Advisors shares our values, our investment philosophy, and our passion for serving people.
Mercer Advisors is a great fit for us, like Blue Moon they put their clients first.
The high cultural alignment with Mercer Advisors was a must for us given the various Foundations, Endowments, and number of business retirement plans we are managing. When Dave Barton explained to us that Mercer Advisors has a long history of serving and administrating ERISA plans for small businesses, whether they are standard 401(k), defined benefit or contribution plans, combo plans, or more sophisticated cash balance plans, that was a big deal for us and knew that together we could continue to grow and add value to this clientele.
We are excited to team up with a firm whose philosophy is in lock step with ours. We were looking for a partner that could help us to better serve our clients and provide additional resources. After meeting with Dave Barton, Mercer Advisors’ Vice Chairman in charge of Mergers and Acquisitions, I was convinced Mercer Advisors was the right choice for me and for my clients. We couldn’t be happier.
When we were evaluating potential partners, we knew it had to check two key boxes: that it would be a good move for our clients, and a great place to practice fiduciary-driven financial planning.
Mercer Advisors has the scale to offer a robust set of financial planning and investment services while still offering individualized attention and a high level of client service that has been a hallmark of Dragon Financial.
Our partnership with Mercer Advisors allows us to continue our focus on holistically serving clients, a culture we share. Mercer Advisors will play an important role in supporting our continued growth and scale while further strengthening our ability to meet the current and future needs of our clients.
We know how to win new clients, but we also realized that at the pace we are growing we needed to add significant scale and corporate architecture. We needed to partner with a fully institutionalized RIA that had built out fully scaled middle and back office functionality that could handle our explosive growth.
…I love Mercer Advisors’ family office service offering, and that they could take over with back-office responsibilities and help us to offer a broader range of services for our clients. Most importantly, however, was their commitment to serving their clients with excellence and likewise committed to providing career development opportunities for their staff. We shared key business values and virtues – this was most important to me.
Mercer Advisors shares our vision of how to provide independent, objective advice without any product sales agenda.
As we celebrated our 35th anniversary of serving clients, we took the time to reflect both back and into the future, determining that this new relationship would allow us to enhance client service, innovation and specialized services. Mercer Advisors was a perfect fit for us and we are glad we made that decision.
We are a dedicated financial planning firm with extraordinary expertise in ERISA plan vehicles. We were looking for a partner that would allow us to continue to flourish in these areas, as well as to provide growth opportunities for the firm and my staff. I met with Dave Barton…together we walked through the pros and cons of a business combination and my conclusion was Mercer Advisors was a great fit for me, my staff, and most important for our clients. The transaction was additive for all concerned and we couldn’t be more excited to join the Mercer Advisors team.
Mercer Advisors checked all the boxes for us, right valuation for the business I built, good for my staff with career development opportunities, and most importantly great for my clients knowing they would be well taken care of for generations to come. We couldn’t be more excited about joining the Mercer Advisors team.
After doing extensive reverse due diligence with the Mercer Advisors team, it became clear to me that Mercer Advisors was not only a perfect fit for JFM staff and our clients, it was the only compatible fit given our mandate to operate as a family office advisor to HNW and UHNW clients.
This merger brings together two world-class wealth management firms, which will allow us to expand client resources beyond the high-levels we have today. Our extensive experience working with high-net-worth entrepreneurs and executives, and family offices is highly complementary to Mercer Advisors, and this partnership will allow us to provide those services on a national level.
We are committed to serving our clients with excellence. Part of that duty includes making sure their needs, and families’ needs, are taken care of for decades to come, and beyond my business lifetime. As a result, it became clear we needed to partner with an established national firm that could ensure continued high-quality customer service in perpetuity and present our staff with career development opportunities.
The ability to design my ‘life after’ sale was important to me as I transition from active operator to just focusing on doing things I love. Working with Mercer Advisors extends my career by creating work-life balance.
We agreed the best course of action for us was to join a national partner that shared our commitment to serve our clients at the highest level, while simultaneously enhancing the client experience by offering more in-house services like estate planning, insurance planning, and tax return preparation.
We serve our clients at the highest level and act as a generational advisor. Thus, in looking for a partner to discuss possible succession planning, finding one that shared our mission, vision and values was most important.
I’m thrilled to be working with Mercer Advisors and taking advantage of their large presence with over 40+ locations, true scale with high division of labor, and adding family office services like in-house estate planning, tax return preparation, and corporate trustee services.
It was important to be able to expand the services we could offer our clients and ensure their financial goals were met on all fronts. Joining Mercer Advisors allows us to continue to provide an outstanding service experience for all of our clients and bring added investment, estate and tax resources into our offering to the mix.
We have been a vibrant part of the New York financial community for over 30 years, and this merger allows us to continue our journey under the Mercer Advisors umbrella.
Our affiliation with Mercer Advisors will allow us to deliver a broader range of specialized offerings, including turnkey asset management, in-house estate planning, executive benefits consulting, family office services, and trust administration. We’re now more capable and client-focused than ever before.
PFA was built upon the principle of delivering exceptional client service to physicians across the United States. After speaking with Dave Barton, Vice Chairman leading Mergers and Acquisitions, it was quickly apparent to me that Dave deeply understood the physician and dentist markets, and that Mercer Advisors was the right landing spot for me, my staff, and most importantly our clients.
In today’s more complex and competitive operating environment, firms of our size struggle with splitting our time between servicing our clients, growing our firm, while simultaneously managing our middle and back office. Mercer Advisors’ size, strength, culture and family office structure is the future for firms like us to meet all of our collective goals.
I was impressed with the depth and breadth of Mercer Advisors’ offerings and how we could leverage their scale and national platform business. Mercer Advisors is a great fit for us and our clients, we couldn’t be more excited.
Mercer Advisors’ philosophy is tailor made for our independent approach. They see things the way we do and always put clients first.
Regent was founded and built around holistically servicing our clients’ financial needs at the highest level. It was equally important that we provide unbiased advice to our clients…It was important to me we found a partner that put clients’ interests first like we do.
The questions that had to be answered for us in finding the right partner was first, is this new partner good for our clients—will it add value to them? Second, is this good for our staff? And third, is this partner right for the co-owners of Republic? … At the end of the day Mercer Advisors answered each of these three questions positively for us and they won our hearts and minds.
While we have a strong team and great next generation talent and leadership, David and I realized that we needed to find a like-minded partner that could not only provide a business continuity plan for us, our clients, and staff, but also help us scale and leverage of our operation.
Mercer Advisors’ “Family Office” business model with in-house estate planning lawyers, tax return professionals and corporate trustee services is a great value add and complements my philosophy of holistically serving all my clients’ financial needs.
After vetting multiple firms, it was clear to me that Mercer Advisors most closely shares my founding philosophy and brings a deep bench of subject matter experts, allowing me to further strengthen my role as an advisor.
This strategic partnership allows us to offer our clients so much more while still remaining part of a privately held fiduciary company that has the same culture and values as ours.
Size means permanence in today’s investment world. The deep bench and extensive resources available to us under Mercer Advisors’ umbrella will help us maintain our foundational commitment of exceeding client expectations – now through a number of expanded service offerings.
We are active community leaders and truly believe in selfless acts of kindness. We hold ourselves to the highest degree of fiduciary standards and professionalism and strive to fulfill the long-term financial objectives of our clients. In talking with David Barton, Mercer Advisors’ Vice Chairman, who leads Mergers and Acquisitions and other members of the Mercer Advisors team, Emily and I knew we found the right partner for us, our staff, and our clients.
The roll up firms that we saw just didn’t have the same approach and culture. We didn’t want to be part of a hodgepodge of firms that they would eventually sell. We wanted to be part of a firm where our people had a chance to grow.
As part of a larger organization we are better positioned to serve our existing clients with a broader range of products and services.
They had the scale that we wanted, and that was really important to me … I wanted the scale to make sure I could say to clients: “We are bringing you the absolute best in investment and service resources.”
I had built a successful and growing practice but had reached the limits of my capacity. To continue to add clients and grow I had to reinvent my business. To use industry vernacular, I had to build it or join it…Partnering with Mercer Advisors had appeal for me because they take over onerous back-office responsibilities, and offer in-house family office services like estate planning, tax, etc., that my clients can utilize. For me it was a win, and for my clients it was a win, a true ‘win-win’.
We had lots of interest in our firm … After meeting with Dave Barton, Mercer Advisors Vice Chairman heading up mergers and acquisitions, the choice was clear – Mercer Advisors was the perfect fit for us. Dave Barton addressed all our questions and concerns including painting an exciting picture of what the future holds for our team and clients.
The criteria I had in seeking a partner was, first, we needed to share core values regarding clients and people. Second, I wanted to offload back office responsibilities and needed to know they would be managed at the highest level. Third, it was important to me that my team had career path opportunities with our new partner.
Argosy and Mercer Advisors share the same client focused values, and I love that the company is deeply loyal to their staff like us and have defined career path opportunities for them. In Mercer Advisors, we have found the right home for our clients and staff.
When it came time for us to discuss our own succession plan and business continuity strategy, we wanted to make sure our clients continued to receive the highest quality of care. To that end, we looked for a partner that shared our ‘client first’ mindset and could deliver on the promise of the highest caliber financial stewardship.
Beacon’s vision and mission was and is to comprehensively serve the needs of our clients and do so with the utmost integrity and highest acumen. We’ve done that. In searching for a partner to ensure continuity for my team and clients it was critical to me to find a firm that shared my business values and commitment to our fiduciary standard for financial planning and comprehensively serving the needs of our clients.
While other firms could offer similar terms, what was most important to me was finding the perfect convergence of what is right for our clients, our employees, and our stakeholders. As a fiduciary, I believe that every decision we make must pass through a filter which asks ‘Is this good for the client?’ Mercer Advisors shares our values, our investment philosophy, and our passion for serving people.
Mercer Advisors is a great fit for us, like Blue Moon they put their clients first.
The high cultural alignment with Mercer Advisors was a must for us given the various Foundations, Endowments, and number of business retirement plans we are managing. When Dave Barton explained to us that Mercer Advisors has a long history of serving and administrating ERISA plans for small businesses, whether they are standard 401(k), defined benefit or contribution plans, combo plans, or more sophisticated cash balance plans, that was a big deal for us and knew that together we could continue to grow and add value to this clientele.
We are excited to team up with a firm whose philosophy is in lock step with ours. We were looking for a partner that could help us to better serve our clients and provide additional resources. After meeting with Dave Barton, Mercer Advisors’ Vice Chairman in charge of Mergers and Acquisitions, I was convinced Mercer Advisors was the right choice for me and for my clients. We couldn’t be happier.
When we were evaluating potential partners, we knew it had to check two key boxes: that it would be a good move for our clients, and a great place to practice fiduciary-driven financial planning.
Mercer Advisors has the scale to offer a robust set of financial planning and investment services while still offering individualized attention and a high level of client service that has been a hallmark of Dragon Financial.
Our partnership with Mercer Advisors allows us to continue our focus on holistically serving clients, a culture we share. Mercer Advisors will play an important role in supporting our continued growth and scale while further strengthening our ability to meet the current and future needs of our clients.
We know how to win new clients, but we also realized that at the pace we are growing we needed to add significant scale and corporate architecture. We needed to partner with a fully institutionalized RIA that had built out fully scaled middle and back office functionality that could handle our explosive growth.
…I love Mercer Advisors’ family office service offering, and that they could take over with back-office responsibilities and help us to offer a broader range of services for our clients. Most importantly, however, was their commitment to serving their clients with excellence and likewise committed to providing career development opportunities for their staff. We shared key business values and virtues – this was most important to me.
Mercer Advisors shares our vision of how to provide independent, objective advice without any product sales agenda.
As we celebrated our 35th anniversary of serving clients, we took the time to reflect both back and into the future, determining that this new relationship would allow us to enhance client service, innovation and specialized services. Mercer Advisors was a perfect fit for us and we are glad we made that decision.
We are a dedicated financial planning firm with extraordinary expertise in ERISA plan vehicles. We were looking for a partner that would allow us to continue to flourish in these areas, as well as to provide growth opportunities for the firm and my staff. I met with Dave Barton…together we walked through the pros and cons of a business combination and my conclusion was Mercer Advisors was a great fit for me, my staff, and most important for our clients. The transaction was additive for all concerned and we couldn’t be more excited to join the Mercer Advisors team.
Mercer Advisors checked all the boxes for us, right valuation for the business I built, good for my staff with career development opportunities, and most importantly great for my clients knowing they would be well taken care of for generations to come. We couldn’t be more excited about joining the Mercer Advisors team.
After doing extensive reverse due diligence with the Mercer Advisors team, it became clear to me that Mercer Advisors was not only a perfect fit for JFM staff and our clients, it was the only compatible fit given our mandate to operate as a family office advisor to HNW and UHNW clients.
This merger brings together two world-class wealth management firms, which will allow us to expand client resources beyond the high-levels we have today. Our extensive experience working with high-net-worth entrepreneurs and executives, and family offices is highly complementary to Mercer Advisors, and this partnership will allow us to provide those services on a national level.
We are committed to serving our clients with excellence. Part of that duty includes making sure their needs, and families’ needs, are taken care of for decades to come, and beyond my business lifetime. As a result, it became clear we needed to partner with an established national firm that could ensure continued high-quality customer service in perpetuity and present our staff with career development opportunities.
The ability to design my ‘life after’ sale was important to me as I transition from active operator to just focusing on doing things I love. Working with Mercer Advisors extends my career by creating work-life balance.
We agreed the best course of action for us was to join a national partner that shared our commitment to serve our clients at the highest level, while simultaneously enhancing the client experience by offering more in-house services like estate planning, insurance planning, and tax return preparation.
We serve our clients at the highest level and act as a generational advisor. Thus, in looking for a partner to discuss possible succession planning, finding one that shared our mission, vision and values was most important.
I’m thrilled to be working with Mercer Advisors and taking advantage of their large presence with over 40+ locations, true scale with high division of labor, and adding family office services like in-house estate planning, tax return preparation, and corporate trustee services.
It was important to be able to expand the services we could offer our clients and ensure their financial goals were met on all fronts. Joining Mercer Advisors allows us to continue to provide an outstanding service experience for all of our clients and bring added investment, estate and tax resources into our offering to the mix.
We have been a vibrant part of the New York financial community for over 30 years, and this merger allows us to continue our journey under the Mercer Advisors umbrella.
Our affiliation with Mercer Advisors will allow us to deliver a broader range of specialized offerings, including turnkey asset management, in-house estate planning, executive benefits consulting, family office services, and trust administration. We’re now more capable and client-focused than ever before.
PFA was built upon the principle of delivering exceptional client service to physicians across the United States. After speaking with Dave Barton, Vice Chairman leading Mergers and Acquisitions, it was quickly apparent to me that Dave deeply understood the physician and dentist markets, and that Mercer Advisors was the right landing spot for me, my staff, and most importantly our clients.
In today’s more complex and competitive operating environment, firms of our size struggle with splitting our time between servicing our clients, growing our firm, while simultaneously managing our middle and back office. Mercer Advisors’ size, strength, culture and family office structure is the future for firms like us to meet all of our collective goals.
I was impressed with the depth and breadth of Mercer Advisors’ offerings and how we could leverage their scale and national platform business. Mercer Advisors is a great fit for us and our clients, we couldn’t be more excited.
Mercer Advisors’ philosophy is tailor made for our independent approach. They see things the way we do and always put clients first.
Regent was founded and built around holistically servicing our clients’ financial needs at the highest level. It was equally important that we provide unbiased advice to our clients…It was important to me we found a partner that put clients’ interests first like we do.
The questions that had to be answered for us in finding the right partner was first, is this new partner good for our clients—will it add value to them? Second, is this good for our staff? And third, is this partner right for the co-owners of Republic? … At the end of the day Mercer Advisors answered each of these three questions positively for us and they won our hearts and minds.
While we have a strong team and great next generation talent and leadership, David and I realized that we needed to find a like-minded partner that could not only provide a business continuity plan for us, our clients, and staff, but also help us scale and leverage of our operation.
Mercer Advisors’ “Family Office” business model with in-house estate planning lawyers, tax return professionals and corporate trustee services is a great value add and complements my philosophy of holistically serving all my clients’ financial needs.
After vetting multiple firms, it was clear to me that Mercer Advisors most closely shares my founding philosophy and brings a deep bench of subject matter experts, allowing me to further strengthen my role as an advisor.
This strategic partnership allows us to offer our clients so much more while still remaining part of a privately held fiduciary company that has the same culture and values as ours.
Size means permanence in today’s investment world. The deep bench and extensive resources available to us under Mercer Advisors’ umbrella will help us maintain our foundational commitment of exceeding client expectations – now through a number of expanded service offerings.
We are active community leaders and truly believe in selfless acts of kindness. We hold ourselves to the highest degree of fiduciary standards and professionalism and strive to fulfill the long-term financial objectives of our clients. In talking with David Barton, Mercer Advisors’ Vice Chairman, who leads Mergers and Acquisitions and other members of the Mercer Advisors team, Emily and I knew we found the right partner for us, our staff, and our clients.
The roll up firms that we saw just didn’t have the same approach and culture. We didn’t want to be part of a hodgepodge of firms that they would eventually sell. We wanted to be part of a firm where our people had a chance to grow.
As part of a larger organization we are better positioned to serve our existing clients with a broader range of products and services.
Our Accolades
Mercer Advisors is proudly recognized as one of the top wealth managers in the United States.
Our Thinking On RIA Succession Planning And Growth
-
Financial Advisor Magazine
FA Magazine Documents the Growth Velocity of Mercer Advisors from its Early Inception Through the Current RIA Landscape
November 1, 2020 -
Devoe & Company
Head of M&A, Dave Barton, discusses the latest trend for succession planning at Devoe & Co M&A Succession Summit
June 17-18, 2020 -
Financial Advisor Magazine
How Pandemic Washed Away Profit Margins For Small RIAs
July 15, 2020 -
Barron's
Advisor M&A Post-Covid: Winners and Losers
May 4, 2020 -
Wealthmanagement.com
Our Thinking On RIA Succession Planning And Growth
January 31, 2020 -
Citywire
Mercer’s Head of M&A talks about benefits of selling to a scale player at Schwab Impact 2019 Conference
November 6, 2019 -
Investment News
Dave Barton, Head of M&A and Vice Chairman, Explains How to Create a G2 Succession Plan
October 18, 2019 -
Investment News
Succession Planning: How Duckworth Joined Mercer Advisors
May 28, 2019
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Most clients want to know that you’re still going to be their advisor. We help you ensure them that you’ll be there for them, with even more resources and services, such as financial planning, estate planning, and tax planning and returns, to help them meet their financial goals. Once they understand that, they’re ready to move forward.
There isn’t a quick and easy answer to this question. The value of an RIA firm is generally based on its cash flow, growth potential, and risk. Multiples are one thing, but deal structure is just as important. The best way to answer that for your situation is to speak with us confidentially and enable us to make a proper assessment.
You should consider this now so that you have a plan that helps you avoid uncertainty and unforeseen events such as market shifts and personal health changes. With a plan in place, you’re in charge of any transition rather than at its mercy should something unexpected occur.
There are four main reasons:
- It’s good business practice. Planning for business continuity/succession does not have to be strictly about stopping or giving up. Having a plan that mitigates operational risks, particularly key person risk, could enable you to keep going and extend the continuity of care your clients want.
- The SEC expects RIA firms to have a robust business continuity plan as part of a firm’s fiduciary obligation. In addition, the NASAA specifically addresses disability or death of key personnel in its rules 203(a)-1A and 2002 411(c)-1A).
- If you’re a small shop and you don’t have a plan, clients may look elsewhere because they’re concerned about what will happen to their money if something happens to you.
- When searching for an RIA to work with, potential customers may not even consider you if they find out that you don’t have a succession plan. It’s a risk they don’t want to take.
Even though you’ve prepared for someone at your RIA to take over for you, things might change by the time that comes to pass. Your firm might become too expensive by the time you exit. Your exit timing may no longer align with that of your proposed successor. Your successor may no longer be able to or interested in becoming an owner when the time comes. All of these are reasons to consider an external strategic partner instead.
Financial acquirers are typically investors that are looking for the financial return they can get when acquiring an RIA. What they’re purchasing is the RIA’s expected future earnings.
Strategic acquirers, on the other hand, are interested in how an RIA fits with their business objectives for their company and their clients. They’re not just acquiring an RIA for revenue. They’re acquiring an RIA because the firm’s philosophy, strategies, and ways of doing business fit with their own.
Mercer Advisors is a strategic acquirer. That means we’re looking to acquire RIAs that operate as fiduciaries and share our commitment to serving clients. Our strategic advisors continuously monitor client accounts to ensure that every security or asset allocation we recommend is in their best interest. Our advisors are committed to clients, to our wealth management philosophy, and to ensuring our clients get the right strategy, plan, and attention according to their needs. If this matches your philosophy for running your RIA, we’d love to talk with you.
Meet the team that handles the deal.
Call us at 805.565.1976
David Barton, JD
M&A Leader
“I’m frequently asked if I believe advisor fee compression will occur. My answer is that it already has, but not in the way everyone thinks. First, many investment management-only shops have lowered their fees to remain competitive with RIAs that provide financial planning. Second, offering financial planning to clients is no longer a differentiator, it’s now table stakes. Third, financial planning firms are losing clients and market share to RIAs that offer more than just financial planning. The fastest growing RIAs now offer in-house estate planning, tax return preparation, and other services free or wholesale to stand out in a crowded RIA market and to justify the fees they already charge. I see this every day in the RIA community. Free or wholesale service expansion is real, and it is fee compression, here and now.”
Dave Barton is Vice Chairman at Mercer Advisors, where he has held multiple senior leadership positions, including CEO for 9 years (2008-17), President, Chief Operating Officer, Head of Client Service, and General Counsel. As CEO he was responsible for transforming Mercer Advisors from a closely held company to a national platform RIA with 27 offices coast-to-coast increasing AUM by $9 billion during his tenure. He was the architect for Mercer Advisors’ Family Office business model, developed referral partnerships with TD Ameritrade, Schwab, and Scottrade, making Mercer Advisors one of the fastest growing RIAs in the United States.
In mid-2017 Mr. Barton stepped down as CEO to focus his time and attention to grow Mercer Advisors through M&A. Since then he has completed dozens of acquisitions. Mr. Barton was named the “2018 M&A Leader of the Year” by WealthManagement.com. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Irvine, and his juris doctor degree from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. Mr. Barton was a practicing trial attorney before joining Mercer Advisors.
His experience as CEO combined with his law degree helps Dave understand what’s important to business owners and how to structure deals for win-win results.
Nicholas Semko, CFP®, CRPC®, CMFC®
Managing Director, M&A
Nick joined Mercer Advisors in 2014 as a Regional Vice President tasked to lead business development efforts in New York City. After two years of driving record-breaking growth, Nick was promoted to oversee the New York City Team as Branch Manager. As rapid expansion continued, Nick quickly became Managing Director of the Northeast responsible for all client experience and business development efforts throughout the region. Under his leadership, the Northeast Region successfully integrated 9 acquired firms, added 10 new offices and client AUM grew by over $3 Billion. Nick has been a member of Mercer Advisors Senior Leadership Team since 2017, and recently transitioned to bring his unique perspective to the Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Team. Prior to coming to Mercer Advisors, Nick was an Assistant Vice President at AllianceBernstein Investments where he consulted with financial advisors across all channels in both the New York Metro and Midwestern markets. Nick began his career in the Financial Services Industry in 2004 at Ameriprise Financial, providing comprehensive wealth planning and investment management services for high-net-worth clients. He graduated from Villanova University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Nick resides in New Jersey with his wife and son and he enjoys spending time with his family, running, and golfing.
Randy Magdaluyo
Vice President, M&A Program Management
“Many advisors associate selling with stopping or giving up. Yet selling to the right strategic partner can enable you to keep going and extend the continuity of care your clients want. The right partner offers something more for you to gain in exchange, such as additional services, resources, scale, and growth potential. Mercer Advisors offers all of these things, which has helped many advisors see a new path forward.”
Randy joined Mercer Advisors in 2019 as a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Team. He came from TD Ameritrade Institutional, where part of his role there was to be a resource for RIA owners on M&A and succession. Prior to that, he was a Manager in Accenture’s capital markets group; a Vice President at Fidelity Investments serving independent RIAs; and a Vice President at State Street where, among other assignments, he helped conduct due diligence and integrate global investment managers with $25 billion to €300 billion under management in the US and Europe. He began his career in the investment management industry in 1999. Randy received his bachelor of science from San Diego State University and his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Devin Farrow, CIMA®, CFP®
Vice President, M&A
Devin joined Mercer in 2018 as a Regional Vice President and was responsible for growing Mercer organically in Florida. He succesfully transformed the Florida market and achieved record-setting growth in 2020. Prior to joining Mercer Advisors, Devin held roles in relationship management working with high net worth individuals, portfolio management for one of the largest retail firms in the country, and business development for a private credit firm. His broad wealth management experience gives him a deep understanding of the current changes in the financial services industry and the unique challenges Independent Advisors are experiencing. Devin graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Finance and he is currently an MBA candidate at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. Additionally, he is a CIMA® professional and a Certified Financial Planner™ Practitioner.
Joe Pellizzari, CFP®
Vice President, M&A
Joe has been working exclusively with registered investment advisors for over two decades. He has extensive industry experience in helping RIA firms with a variety of practice management topics including strategic planning, business succession, implementing growth strategies, and deploying technology solutions. Prior to joining Mercer Advisors, Joe worked within the Advisor Services business enterprise of Charles Schwab where he was responsible for providing leadership, sales management, and coaching to a team of Senior Relationship Managers that covered the top firms in the Southeast territory which included over $250 billion in assets. His territory was able to exceed set growth goals during his tenure.
Joe began his career helping RIAs implement software solutions to drive firm productivity and profitability. Throughout his career Joe has been the recipient of numerous awards and was recognized for building teams that achieved high levels of engagement as measured by the Coffman Organization, an industry leading independent consulting firm. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University earning a degree in Business Management. Joe enjoys biking, swimming and traveling with his wife and two children.
William Perysian
Consultant, M&A
“As a fiduciary, any decision you make to partner with a firm should be the best possible choice for your clients.”
William began his career at Mercer Advisors in 2008 while working part-time in college, which gave him early exposure to the organization and the financial services industry. After graduating from college, William returned to Mercer Advisors in 2014 and held numerous roles supporting the firm’s operations and business development teams. As a Managing Director of the M&A team, William helps communicate Mercer Advisors’ value proposition to advisors and RIA firms that are interested in strategic partnerships and succession planning. William graduated Magna Cum Laude from Arizona State University, with a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and a minor in business. William also holds the FINRA Series 65 license.
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[1] Mercer Advisors charges an additional cost for the optional service of tax strategy and preparing clients’ annual tax returns.
[2] Mercer Advisors is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice to clients. All estate planning documentation preparation and other legal advice is provided through its affiliation with Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.
Wealthmanagement.com, A panel of independent judges determined the WealthManagement.com 2019 Industry Award winners. Criteria included demonstrable impact on their firm, the industry, and wealth management in general.
2019 Barron’s, Advisors who wish to be ranked fill out a 102-question survey about their practice. We verify that data with the advisors’ firms and with regulatory databases and then we apply our rankings formula to the data to generate a ranking. The formula features three major categories of calculations: (1) Assets (2) Revenue (3) Quality of practice.
2019 Private Asset Management (PAM), Mercer Advisors was awarded the Best Private Wealth Manager for firms with over $5 billion dollars in assets under management. Mercer Advisors was selected as the winner from among eight shortlisted entrants. The PAM Awards, organized by Private Asset Management magazine, are designed for investment professionals and wealth advisors, operating within the private asset management industry and are held annually. Candidates are invited to submit responses in several categories to demonstrate developments to their business model, financial progress in business performance and service offerings. Selection is determined by growth in clients and employees, client satisfaction, and product Innovation over the course of the previous year. Winners are determined by an independent panel of industry experts and the PAM editorial team. For more information on Private Asset Management (PAM), visit fundintelligence.global.