Creative Planning Inc., a giant registered investment advisor headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., has acquired McLean, Va.-based Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney, LLC ("SBSB"), with over $5 billion in assets under management, according to a news release today. No purchase price was disclosed.
But insiders said the transaction, Creative Planning's largest deal ever, involved both cash and stock. SBSB was sold to a subsidiary of Bank of Montreal in 2003 and bought itself back in 2016, when it had about $2.7 billion in assets. In the last five years as an independent firm, it has nearly doubled in AUM.
Greg Sullivan, co-founder of SBSB, said in an interview that his firm had been looking for a partner with an aligned approach to financial planning and investment management, as well as a shared culture of fiduciary responsibility. Among the attractions were Creative Planning's large, sophisticated tax department.
“Creative Planning checks all those boxes and will help us greatly expand our client services with in-house access to estate planning, insurance planning and corporate trustee services,” he said in a release.
Creative Planning advises on $76 billion in assets and operates in all 50 states. Founded in 1991, SBSB offers comprehensive financial planning, investment management and tax preparation services for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.
Under terms of the M&A deal, SBSB will add over 60 team members to the Creative Planning team, the news release reported. “SBSB is, by far, our most impactful acquisition to date, in terms of bringing on a large pool of experienced talent,” Creative Planning CEO Peter Mallouk said in the news release. “With SBSB joining our team in the DC metropolitan area, which already works with over 1,000 clients in the area, we are on our way to emerging as the leader in the region.”
Ardea Partners LP served as exclusive financial advisor to SBSB, and Alston & Bird served as the firm’s legal counsel.