Mercer Global Advisor continues its buying spree with the acquisition Thursday of a Michigan-based wealth management firm with $100 million in assets under management, according to a news release.
Located in Dearborn, SD Financial Pathways is led by president and sole managing member Steven Deceuninck. It serves approximately 85 households.
The firm, which has been providing investment advisory services since July 2013, will consolidate with Mercer Advisors’ existing office in Detroit and Deceuninck will join the team, the release said.
Deceuninck said as his business grew, he became mired in activities not related to the client experience, and he knew he wanted to spend more time being an advocate for those people looking for honest, independent financial advice. “After vetting multiple firms, it was clear to me that Mercer Advisors most closely shares my founding philosophy and brings a deep bench of subject matter experts, allowing me to further strengthen my role as an advisor,” he said in the release.
David Barton, vice chairman of mergers and acquisitions for Mercer Advisors, said Deceuninck has built an impressive business over a relatively short period of time. “He brings thought leadership and quality financial planning capability to the table. He’s a great add to the team.”
This acquisition is the third in as many weeks for Mercer, a Denver-based wealth management firm. Last week, Houston-based Republic Wealth Advisor came on board with $230 million in AUM. In the prior week, Mercer added Adam Financial Associate with $190 million in AUM, expanding its Florida presence with offices in Clearwater, Palm Beach Gardens and Boca Raton.
Established in 1985, Mercer Advisors is a parent company of Mercer Global Advisors Inc., an RIA majority owned by Oak Hill Capital and Genstar Capital. It’s one of the largest RIAs and financial planning firms in the U.S. with more than $18 billion in client assets.