Deals & Moves: Wealth Enhancement Plants Flag in Alabama
Wealth Enhancement, a Minneapolis-based independent wealth management firm whose private equity holders are reportedly considering a sale, will acquire registered investment advisor Cloud Investments, according to sources.
Cloud Investments will bring three offices to Wealth Enhancement in Huntsville, Florence, and Gadsden, Ala., managing more than $462 million in client assets. The move also further solidifies Wealth Enhancement as one of the wealth management sector’s most active acquirers, and puts its total client assets at more than $158.9 billion.
The acquisition marks Wealth Enhancement’s first location in Alabama and brings a team of five advisors and six support professionals led by Don Cloud, president and wealth advisor. The firm was founded in 2006 and is majority owned by Cloud, according to its most recent Form ADV.
“We are excited about the enhanced resources and reach that this partnership will bring to our team,” Cloud said in a statement.
Cloud Investments offers retirement planning, investment management, tax strategy, estate planning and risk management services to professionals, business owners and families throughout North Alabama, including those connected to the region’s defense and aerospace industries.
Jim Cahn, chief strategy officer of Wealth Enhancement, said the partnership will allow the firm to build on the foundation Cloud and his team has established while providing national-scale and planning capabilities to its clients.
The announcement comes as sources familiar with the matter and numerous reports say Wealth Enhancement is shopping a stake to either Bain Capital or The Carlyle Group. It is currently majority held by TA Associates and Onex Corporation.
The bidding was first reported by The Financial Times. Wealth Enhancement and the private equity firms have declined to comment on the sale.
Merit Financial Advisors Acquires Towson Wealth Management, Adds $502.5M
Merit Financial Advisors, an Alpharetta, Ga.-based financial advisory firm, has acquired Towson Wealth Management, a Towson, Md.-based RIA led by CEO Kurt Wiegert.
Towson Wealth, which was founded in 2014, oversees about $502.5 million in total assets, including $297.5 million in assets under management and $205 million in assets under administration.
Wiegert will join Merit as a wealth manager and partner, and the firm will adopt the Merit name, as with all its acquisitions. Towson Wealth, which had been majority-owned by founder Stephen Olah, works with about 350 client households and specializes in personal wealth management and comprehensive financial planning.
“I could spend more of my time building out the infrastructure necessary to scale the firm, or we could find the right partner with the technology, marketing, operational resources and leadership already in place,” Wiegert said in a statement. “I wanted our team to be able to focus on what we do best, serving clients while also creating the opportunity to significantly grow the business.”
The deal expands Merit’s presence in the Mid-Atlantic and brings a multi-generational team of advisors to its national platform, according to the acquisitive RIA, which now boasts $26 billion in assets.
David Wahlen, executive vice president and strategic partners of Merit, said Towson’s growth ambitions and strong foundation drew Merit to the firm.
“Kurt has built an outstanding business, and what stood out to us was that he wasn’t looking to slow down,” Wahlen said. “He was looking for the right platform to accelerate growth.”
Merit’s client holdings include $18.63 billion in advisory funds, $2.89 billion in brokerage assets, $2.7 billion in employer plans, and $1.8 billion in ESOP assets.
Cresset Expands in California with Former Bank Investment Analyst
Cresset, a multi-family office based in New York overseeing more than $250 billion in client assets, has expanded its Santa Barbara, Calif. office by hiring Managing Director and Wealth Advisor Cory Boggs, a former wealth manager at Manchester Capital Management, where he managed more than $600 million in client assets.
Boggs joins Cresset with experience in advising entrepreneurs, business owners, and multi-generational families on both public and private market investing strategies. Earlier in his career, Boggs was an assistant vice president at City National Bank in Los Angeles, where he worked in the Private Bank as an investment analyst.
“Cresset’s integrated family office model, collaborative culture and commitment to delivering highly personalized advice make it, from my perspective, an exceptional platform to serve clients with increasingly sophisticated needs,” Boggs said in a statement.
Jessica Malkin, chief growth officer at Cresset, said Boggs has built an outstanding reputation as an advisor. She and Cresset have been on a recruiting run, having, over the past couple of months, brought on advisors managing at least $1 billion in client assets from Lazard Wealth and J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
Pearce Financial Joins Osaic from Integrity Alliance
Osaic, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based independent broker/dealer with more than $700 billion in client assets, announced that Pearce Financial has joined the firm from Integrity Alliance, with the Omaha, Neb.-based advisory team overseeing approximately $143 million in client assets.
Pearce Financial is a multigenerational family business led by investment advisors father and son Kevin and Trent Pearce, alongside planning assistants Julie and Kara Pearce, a mother-and-daughter team. Kevin Pearce joined Integrity Alliance over 12 years ago, while Trent Pearce joined the firm about 4 years ago, according to BrokerCheck.
“Our family has built this business by putting relationships first and helping clients feel informed and confident about their financial decisions,” said Kevin Pearce, president at Pearce Financial, in a statement. “Osaic gives us access to expanded technology, planning capabilities and operational resources that can help us continue evolving while remaining focused on the families we serve.”
Erinn Ford, executive vice president of advisor engagement at Osaic, said the firm is excited to welcome Pearce Financial as it continues to grow its business.
The affiliation follows other recently announced firms that have joined Osaic from competitors, including Signature Private Wealth Management, Neville & Associates and Du Lac Wealth Services.
This April, Osaic’s private equity owner, Reverence Capital Partners, closed on a recapitalization, with Bain Capital entering as a new investor. The deal raised more than $2 billion in fresh capital for Osaic and allowed Reverence to retain majority ownership.
