You Work Hard for Your Clients
You put a lot into building your RIA.
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.
After having 105 partners join us (since 2016), we have the experience and resources to help make the process as seamless as possible. Whether you’re thinking about retiring or becoming part of a firm that can help you accelerate your growth, talk to Mercer Advisors.
What Sets Mercer Advisors Apart
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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 their RIA.
When advisors join us, they typically have access to more services and expertise than they did previously. Our “family office for your family” service model includes financial planning, estate planning, investment planning, tax planning and preparation, and trustee services—all managed by a single team.
You’ll team up with a group of specialists — investment and portfolio strategists, CPAs1, and estate planning and trust specialists to help manage your clients’ wealth, so you can offer more high-quality services than ever before.
From the very beginning, Mercer Advisors has held itself to the fiduciary standard of always acting in our clients’ best interests. We have, and always will, act in a fiduciary capacity.
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 document preparation and other legal advice is provided through select third parties unaffiliated to Mercer Advisors. Trustee services are offered through select third parties with which a client would engage directly, as such additional fees may apply.
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Like most RIAs that join us, you’ll benefit from our growth engines, which means you’ll get more new business opportunities through our expansive sales and marketing programs.
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While many wealth management companies choose only one type of valuation method for RIA acquisitions, we use several methods.
That includes 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.
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We offer professional fulfillment and leadership opportunities for you and your employees, so you’re well taken care of today and tomorrow.
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Our dedicated Integration Team has integrated many RIAs like yours into Mercer Advisors, so you can trust the transition to Mercer Advisors’ systems and practices to happen as seamlessly as possible.
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, strategists, 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 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 Advisory portal that serves as a central hub and resource for your relationships and activities.
With Mercer Advisors, you can rest assured that your clients will get high-quality advisory assistance with a unified customer experience that makes it easy for them, and for you, to collaborate with them.
Transition with Confidence
See what our newest team members have to say about their transition:
It was important to us to integrate into a firm where we knew it would be a good home for us, our staff, and our clients. We wanted to integrate but also wanted the service experience to remain consistent for our clients.
As we looked at our choices, we began to realize that the merger route with a larger, more resourced firm would take a lot of the administrative tasks off of our plates, freeing us up to continue working with clients and growing their net worth.
The tools now available to my team as part of Mercer Advisors enable us not only to better serve the clients we have but also to expand our reach in ways that we couldn’t do before.
At Mercer Advisors, advisors thrive, clients receive unparalleled service, and firms unlock exponential growth. I’m excited for what’s ahead, knowing I made the best choice for my clients, my team, and my future.
I’ve fallen in love with Mercer’s value statement of achieving a quadruple bottom line meaning benefits for our clients, for our employees, for the company and its shareholders as well as our community. Ultimately, that was what I was always striving for, but had reached a capacity ceiling.
Joining Mercer Advisors allows me to offer clients a broader, more sophisticated suite of services: financial planning, estate strategies, tax planning, trust services, and insurance — all delivered in a cost-effective, coordinated manner. Technology is another leap forward. Clients who embrace technology will find the experience smoother, more efficient, and more comprehensive.
Partnering with Mercer Advisors
For many RIA firms, finding a partner to continue their legacy is top of mind. Learn how Mercer Advisors helps enable you and your team to provide additional value to your clients.
Since the beginning Mercer Advisors has been focused on clients. Learn how Dave helps to create an environment for advisors to do their best work.
The culture at Mercer Advisors stems from our mission to help clients find Economic Freedom™. For Elizabeth, it’s about a community of people serving our clients together.
Major journeys require a helpful guide. Laura shares her role in guiding and supporting new partners as they join us, so they feel welcome and comfortable.
The ultimate goal for a successful integration is to give advisors time back. Learn more from Loren about how we want new partners to spend more time doing what they love.
Martine Lellis
Principal, M&A Partner Development
CFP®, CPA, MBA
Martine is Principal, M&A Partner Development, and is responsible for driving the growth and expansion of the organization through strategic mergers and acquisitions of other RIAs. Based on her more than two decades of experience in the independent wealth management space, she leads like-minded firms in their transition decisions, including assessment of fit, due diligence, financial analysis, talent mapping, and deal negotiations. Previously, Martine served as the company’s Chief Talent Officer (a role she held since joining Mercer Advisors in 2020), with a focus on developing and growing the talent of the organization. She is also a member of the Executive Leadership Team.
Before joining Mercer Advisors, Martine was a Principal and both the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney. She also served on the Technology, Operations & Service Advisory Board of one of the largest RIA custodians, and has been involved as a writer and instructor for CFP® exam review courses.
Martine holds an MBA from Georgetown University and a B.S. in Mathematics from Duke University. She is a member Certified Public Accountant and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®.
Ted Motheral
Principal, M&A Partner Development
JD, MBA
tmotheral@merceradvisors.com
Ted joined Mercer Advisors in 2025 as Principal, M&A Partner Development. He is responsible for driving the growth and expansion of the organization through strategic mergers and acquisitions of other wealth management firms. In this role, Ted leads firms in their transition decisions, including assessment of fit, due diligence, financial analysis, talent mapping, and deal negotiations.
Previously, Ted served as a Partner at Potomac Law Group in the firm’s Corporate and Transactional practice where he focused on mergers and acquisitions, as well as private debt and equity financing. Outside of the financial advisory services industry, Ted has extensive experience in representing private and family-owned businesses across the country.
Earlier in his career, Ted worked in the general counsel office of KLA-Tencor Corporation in Silicon Valley, California and, before becoming an attorney, worked as a financial consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers in the New York City office. Ted has a JD from University of Pittsburgh School of Law, MBA in Finance from University of Pittsburgh, and a BBA from Villanova University.
Randy Magdaluyo
Vice President, M&A Program Management
rmagdaluyo@merceradvisors.com
Randy joined Mercer Advisors in 2019 as a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Team. Previously, he served as a resource for RIA owners on M&A and succession at TD Ameritrade Institutional. Randy’s other past roles include Manager in the Capital Markets Group at Accenture and Vice President at Fidelity Investments serving independent RIAs. He also served as a Vice President at State Street, helping conduct due diligence and integrate global investment managers with $25 billion to €300 billion under management in the US and Europe.
Randy began his career in the investment management industry in 1999. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from San Diego State University and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Joe Pellizzari
Vice President, M&A Partner Development
CFP®
jpellizzari@merceradvisors.com
Joe has dedicated more than 25 years to serving Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), bringing deep expertise across a wide range of practice management disciplines. His areas of focus include strategic planning, succession planning, growth strategy implementation, and technology deployment.
At Mercer Advisors, Joe helps advisory firms scale and thrive in an increasingly complex environment. He is passionate about guiding RIA owners toward solutions that benefit their businesses, their teams, and their clients.
Before joining Mercer Advisors in 2021, Joe held a leadership role within the Advisor Services enterprise at Charles Schwab. There, he led a team of senior relationship managers supporting high caliber firms across the Southeast region, representing more than $250 billion in assets. Under his leadership, the region exceeded its growth targets by over 140%, a testament to his strengths in coaching, business development, and strategic execution. Joe began his career helping RIAs adopt software solutions to improve operational efficiency and profitability.
Joe holds a Bachelor of Science in business management from North Carolina State University. He further advanced his education by completing the Mergers and Acquisitions Executive Education program at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and the Accelerated Personal Financial Planning Program at the University of California, Irvine. He earned his CFP® certification in 2008.
Outside of work, Joe enjoys biking, swimming, and traveling with his wife and two children.
Greg Mayes
Vice President, M&A Partner Development
gmayes@merceradvisors.com
Greg has worked in the financial advisor space for 30 years. He has extensive experience helping RIAs and other financial advisors with a variety of business management challenges, including, business succession, implementing growth strategies, and technology solutions.
Prior to joining Mercer Advisors, Greg worked within LPL Financial in Strategic Business Development as a specialist who helped advisors transition to independence. He previously spent 25 years at TD Ameritrade Institutional and Schwab Advisor Services consulting with advisors about their businesses. He started his career as a financial advisor at Shearson Lehman Brothers.
Greg earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oregon.
In his spare time, Greg enjoys golf, skiing and traveling with his wife and two daughters.
Jay Robinson
Vice President, M&A Partner Development
jrobinson@merceradvisors.com
Jay has worked in the financial services industry for more than 30 years, with 20 years dedicated to the RIA industry. Jay has extensive experience helping RIAs of all sizes create stronger businesses to better serve their clients and teams. Prior to Mercer Advisors, Jay worked in the Advisor Services business of Charles Schwab. He was responsible for providing leadership, sales management, and coaching to a team of Relationship Managers who covered the Midwest territory, which included more than $325 billion in assets. Previously, Jay led regional sales teams at broker-dealers and began his career as a financial planner at Ameriprise.
Jay holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Todd Sanford
Partner Development Advisor
tsanford@merceradvisors.com
Todd joined Mercer Advisors when his firm, Sanford Advisory Services, was acquired in 2022. He works closely with our M&A Partner Development team to help guide advisors decisions around business succession, growth strategies, and technology solutions. Todd began his career in financial services in 1983 and was the first financial advisor hired directly out of college by Investors Diversified Services (IDS), now Ameriprise Financial. The Sanford Center for Financial Planning and Wellness at his alma mater, Western Michigan University, is part of his legacy. The center gives students and community members hope to live a better life financially. Todd is formerly the board president of the Kalamazoo Valley College Foundation after serving as treasurer.
In his spare time, he enjoys competitive travel tennis, which he has been pursuing for more than 35 years. He also enjoys skiing, reading biographies, various forms of art, antique cars, and many activities involving his deep Christian faith.
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