Newport Beach, Calif.-based United Capital Financial Advisers has acquired the assets of McDonald, Cox & Klugh Inc., which has two locations -- one in Seneca, S.C. known as The Investment Center, and another operating as McDonald, Cox, & Klugh in Anderson, S.C.
Thomas McDonald, Brandon Cox, and Arthur Klugh in the Anderson office will join United Capital as managing directors. In Seneca, Jim Charbonneau will join as a senior wealth advisor and Taber Brown will join as a wealth adviser.
“We’re certain that being a part of United Capital will offer us an advantage as we go about doing business in South Carolina,” McDonald said in a statement. “At our best, our strengths lie in investment management and properly caring for our clients’ lives and incomes, but we really feel that United Capital and its ability to help people understand the nuances of financial life management is what excites us most.”
The acquisition marks United Capital’s first foray into South Carolina and brings another $415 million in assets under management, two offices, and seven employees under its umbrella.
“We’ve added more than $3 billion in assets under management across the firm via our four partnerships this year and with each one, there has been one overarching theme with the acquired: We’re a cultural fit for each other and we share a similar philosophy that the landscape of financial services is changing rapidly, which means we need to invest heavily in the client experience and technology to stay relevant,” says Matt Brinker, senior vice president for partner development and acquisitions at United Capital. “There have been a ton of deals this year and I am not convinced this volume is tied to the ‘aging demographic of owners’ or succession planning, but a recognition that charting these waters alone may not be the best tact.”
United Capital now has approximately $15 billion AUM across 77 offices around the country.