Deal Of The Year: Mega, Large, Upper-Mid-Sized, Mid-Sized And Boutique

Advisor Group Wins For Mega Deal, Mariner Wealth Advisors Wins For Large Deal, Creative Planning Wins For Upper-Mid-Sized Deal, Perigon Wealth Management Wins For Mid-Sized Deal And SageView Advisory Group Wins For Boutique Deal

The WSR Wealth Exemplar Awards Deal of the Year honors the top wealth management M&A deals of the year across five categories: Mega ($20 billion and over), Large ($7 billion to $20 billion), Upper-Mid-Sized ($2 billion to $7 billion), Mid-Sized ($500 million to $2 billion) and Boutique ($200 million to $500 million). Deals are selected based on their impact and importance to the industry as well as how they reflect ongoing industry trends.

Mega Deal: Advisor Group Acquires Infinex Financial Holdings

In May Advisor Group announced a definitive agreement to acquire the financial institution-focused broker-dealer Infinex Financial Holdings. Advisor Group and Infinex structured the acquisition, which closed in October, to avoid the need for client repapering. At the time the deal was announced, Infinex had approximately $30 billion in assets and over 750 financial professionals in more than 230 bank and credit union-based wealth management programs.

In June, Advisor Group announced the additional acquisition of American Portfolios Financial Services, a broker-dealer with approximately $40 billion in client assets. That deal closed in November. Advisor Group’s network of independent broker-dealers also includes FSC Securities, Royal Alliance, SagePoint Financial, Securities America, Triad Advisors and Woodbury Financial. As of Dec. 31, Advisor Group oversaw approximately $515 billion in client assets.

Large Deal: Mariner Wealth Advisors Acquires Heber Fuger Wendin

In August, Overland Park, Kansas-based Mariner Wealth Advisors announced the acquisition of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based Heber Fuger Wendin Investment Advisors. The deal established Mariner’s 75th location in the U.S., its fourth office in Michigan and its second in Bloomfield Hills. Mariner has approximately $55.4 billion in assets under management (AUM).

HFW traces its origins to 1934 and as of March 31 reported approximately $8.6 billion in AUM. The RIA serves households and businesses in an array of sectors. In addition to wealth management, its services include bank investment and credit union investment advisory services, asset liability management, investment portfolio accounting, mortgage servicing rights valuation and other financial consulting.

Upper-Mid-Sized Deal: Creative Planning Acquires Reilly Financial Advisors

In January, Creative Planning, an RIA also based in Overland Park, Kansas, announced the acquisition of La Mesa, California-based Reilly Financial Advisors. Reilly, founded in 1999, oversees more than $2 billion in AUM. The fee-only team of nearly 30 financial professionals provides wealth management, investment management and estate planning services.

This year, Creative Planning announced acquisitions or M&A plans for 12 other deals, with firms whose client assets range from $114 million to $5 billion. These include firms with strong CPA  teams and family office approaches. All told, its 2022 deals represent over $15 billion in new client assets. As of Dec. 31, Creative Planning reported approximately $225 billion combined assets under management and advisement, across all 50 states and 65 countries.

Mid-Sized Deal: Perigon Wealth Management Acquires PM Wealth Management

In September, San Francisco-based RIA Perigon Wealth Management announced plans to merge with PM Wealth Management, an RIA with main offices in New York and New Jersey, as well as to form a strategic alliance with New York-based Prager Metis, an accounting and advisory firm affiliated with Prager Metis International. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.

Perigon oversees approximately $3.6 billion in client assets and PM’s nearly $750 million in AUM will give the combined firm more than $4.3 billion in assets. PM Wealth previously was part of Prager Metis. Although Perigon and Prager Metis will be preferred providers to each other’s clients, Perigon will remain tax agnostic and able to work with any tax firm that provides solutions that align with its clients’ needs.

Boutique Deal: SageView Advisory Group Acquires Lakeview Wealth Management

In October, the Newport Beach, California-based RIA SageView Advisory Group acquired Lakeview Wealth Management, a six-woman team that oversees approximately $415 million in client assets from its offices Deer Park, Illinois. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year. Lakeview had been affiliated with LPL Financial prior to the deal. SageView has over 30 offices nationwide and approximately $3.51 billion in wealth AUM as of Sept. 30.

Lakeview is led by Judy VanArsdale and Lisa VanArsdale. This was SageView’s seventh deal since the private equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners took a majority stake in January 2021. Adding the Lakeview team will support SageView’s growth strategy and expands its presence in the important Chicago-area market. 

It also furthers SageView’s efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion in addition to delivering financial planning at the intersection of retirement and wealth management. SageView is a co-founding member of the Institutional Investing Diversity Cooperative.

Chris Latham, Deputy Managing Editor at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at clatham@wealthsolutionsreport.com