Mercer Global Advisors continued its buying spree with the acquisition of MDK Private Wealth Management, LLC, a Seattle-based wealth manager with $2.5 billion of client assets under management, according to a news release. The MDK transaction reveals Mercer's intent to start acquiring larger firms with highly affluent clients, and the Seattle area boasts a high concentration of both groups.
Co-founded in 2020 by Paul Meyer, Jaimi Dennehy and Chris Kalafatis, MDK serves an ultra-wealthy clientele with family office services that include financial planning, investment management, trust and estate planning, private banking and lending, tax planning, private aviation and boat advisory, and executive planning, the release said.
“Together with my co-founders Jaimi Dennehy and Paul Meyer, we have built a white glove multi-family office designed to serve our UHNW clients with exceptional umbrella care. While we have done that, we also wanted to build out our scale creating a platform for institutional and ongoing care,” Kalafatis said in a statement.
Dennehy added, “We were faced with the decision of whether to build this platform or determine if one existed that was aligned with our vision of what a national family office offering could be. After an exhaustive search, we chose to partner with Mercer Advisors,” he said.
MDK is the third acquisition so far this year for the Denver-based Mercer Advisors, one of the most active RIA acquirers in 2023. Last month, the firm hired five industry veterans to its mergers and acquisitions team.
Mercer Advisors CEO Dave Welling described MDK as “a respected multifamily office led by highly qualified professionals with deep expertise serving the ultra-high-net-worth space."
The acquisition will add to Mercer's services for ultra-wealthy clients, he said. "Their addition also boosts our Pacific Northwest presence and expands our presence in the Seattle area," he said.