Last year, Miscinski told Financial Advisor that his company preferred to acquire its partners through a merger, rather than affiliating with them through other means.
Toward that end, Cerity Partners merged last year with Blue Prairie Group, a Chicago-based retirement plan advisor with $11 billion in AUM, and Karsten Advisors, a Fort Worth, Texas, financial planner with $500 million in AUM. Both firms are now rebranded with the Cerity Partners name.
Just one week ago, Cerity Partners acquired EMM Wealth, a New York City practice that manages $3 billion in client assets. The M&A deal grew Cerity Partners’ AUM to a total of $25 billion.
Cerity’s latest M&A deal will grow the firm’s total AUM by another $1 billion, to a total of $26 billion so far this year—and it’s only January.
“As with any merger, we seek strong cultural alignment,” Miscinski said in a news release. “Looking at S&S’s 30-year history, it was apparent that the firm shares our passion for and commitment to client service.”
Echelon Partners served as financial advisor to Sullivan & Serwitz for this transaction.