Two LPL-affiliated firms with client assets totaling $2.6 billion have been acquired by Merit Financial Group to form a super-OSJ, the firms announced.
The business combination continues the trend among big offices of independent B-Ds to pool their resources and try to scale their businesses as technology and regulatory costs keep rising.
Merit Financial Group, an independent registered investment advisory firm located in suburban Atlanta, Ga. confirmed that the two firms, Botsford Financial Group of Dallas and Financial Development Systems of Atlanta, view the formation of a super OSJ as part of the next phase of growth to expand its national capabilities.
The move will give Merit a total of 60 employees and $2.6 billion in total client assets with about $1.3 billion is in regulatory assets under management and $1.28 billion in brokerage assets serviced. The acquisition will make Merit the fifth-largest firm in the LPL network based on assets, a company source said.
Rick Kent, president and founder of Merit Financial Group, said, “Our new dream team positions us to greatly expand our impact in the industry by giving us the breadth of knowledge and capabilities to serve every type of client, from beginner investors to high-net-worth executives.”
Botsford Financial Group, led by Kay Lynn Mayhue, will serve as a consultant and focus on business development while maintaining its own brand to serve its current clients, Merit confirmed. Botsford provides retirement and asset planning for high-net-worth business owners and Fortune 500 senior executives. The partnership will align Botsford’s high-net-worth expertise and experience with financial advisors across the Merit organization, a source said, allowing other advisors in the super-OSJ network to expand into that market.
Erin Botsford, founder of Botsford Financial Group, said in a release, “I’m thrilled to join forces with Merit Financial Group, an organization that shares our group’s passion for constantly raising the bar in the service experience we deliver to our clients.“
Merit has served Financial Development Systems as its office of supervisory jurisdiction since 2014, a company source said. The firm will operate as a partner under the Merit brand Financial Development Systems, which provides wealth management services including investment management and retirement planning, together with income, education and estate planning and tax strategies.
Former president of Financial Development Systems, Jody Owenby, will now act as senior partner at Merit. "Having conducted business through Merit’s RIA platform for years, we knew from the beginning that we shared a common vision for growth with Rick Kent and his team," she said.
One of the largest and fastest growing super-OSJs, Merits’ platform delivers compliance supervision, administrative services, marketing strategies, business coaching and investment research. The firm also provides succession planning servvices.