Merit Financial Advisors has acquired Mersberger Financial Group (Mersberger), a Wisconsin-based firm with offices in Sheboygan Falls and Appleton and $830 million in assets under management, according to a news release.
The merger, which was finalized on August 19, also adds $489 million in assets under advisement to the Atlanta-based Merit's newly established retirement plan division. Financial and legal terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 1994 by Peter and Marilyn Mersberger, the firm specializes in providing qualified retirement planning services, as well as financial planning and wealth management services for individuals, employers, and institutions.
Merit CEO Rick Kent told Financial Advisor that the retirement plan market is a new focus and Mersberger, with its expertise in that area, was just the type of firm they had been looking for. He said for years,he had shied away from developing that division of the busines, but with acquisitions they are making, they are seeing more and more people with 401(k) plans who need support.
He noted that he has been putting off acquiring a $1billion 401(k) business in Atlanta because he was waiting for the right leadership. “I am getting that leadership in Wisconsin. So, yes, it’s going to be a focus going forward,” he said.
Kent said Merit continues to look for firms like Mersberger and wants to find one in Dallas or Connecticut, where the firm already “has assets but no real leadership.”
Besides its retirement expertise, Kent said Mersberger is a perfect cultural fit and its collaborative style matches that of Merit’s. He explained that at Merit, they have something called servant leadership. “That is, if you are a leader that doesn’t mean that you are a boss over people. What that means is you’re responsible to bring your team along and the leader needs to be last and support the team. That’s the way they are. All their decisions are collaborative,” he said.
Kent said Merit also looks for partners that will help the firm grow its business, and Mersberger checked that box, he said. “We want to grow, and we need people to grow. So, we love the idea that there are younger people involved to bring their perspective to the table,” he said, citing Mersberger’s next-generation leadership.
Mersberger is led by Joshua and Zachary Mersberger, the 30-something sons of the founders who share the titles CEO and COO. They will assume new roles at Merit as regional directors and will be joined by their team of more than 20 employees, including Donald Hammond, who will lead Merit's Retirement Plan division. Hammond’s firm, M Squared Advisor Group, merged with Mersberger in 2020. Kent said Hammond’s expertise in the 401(k) business was key to the merger.
The Mersberger brothers, in a statement, said they look froward to a fruitful partnership with Merit.
“As we evaluated the next stage of our firm's evolution, it became clear that partnering with Merit would allow us to better service our clients while simultaneously continuing to put our client's interests first,” Joshua Mersberger said.
Zachary Mersberger added that Merit stood out for its “operational excellence, best-in-class technology, and strong culture rooted in serving their clients.”
This marks the eighth acquisition for Merit since taking a minority investment in December 2020 from Wealth Partners Capital Group and a group of strategic investors led by HGGC, leveraging its Aspire Holdings platform. It’s also the first Wisconsin location for the firm, which has 28 offices throughout the U.S.
Kent said there is much more in store for Merit, noting that the firm has seven “letters of intent” from firms that would like to close this year. “It’s been a really good run this year,” he said. As of April 30, Merit managed $6.1 billion in assets ($4.34 billion in advisory, $1.69 billion in brokerage and $92 million in AUA).