Omaha-based Orion Advisor Solutions is acquiring Berwyn, Pa.-based Brinker Capital, a turnkey asset management platform (TAMP), the companies announced today.
The deal is being financed with an investment from Genstar Capital, according to the news release, though the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Orion is currently majority-owned by TA Associates. According to a company announcement, both TA and Genstar will own equal stakes in the new combined firm.
Brinker’s current leadership, including CEO Noreen Beaman and founder Charles Widger, will become investors in the new firm along side Orion CEO Eric Clarke and other leaders from both teams.
“The entire team at Orion is excited by the enhanced capabilities that Brinker Capital’s team brings to the table, and we welcome Genstar Capital as a major shareholder alongside TA Associates and our employees,” Clarke said in a prepared statement. “The future of Orion is incredibly bright, and we are grateful for the opportunity to continue serving financial advisors with our world-class capabilities.”
The merger will bring Orion’s TAMP AUM to over $40 billion, more than double its current asset total.
Orion first got into the TAMP business with CLS Investments, founded in 1989. Orion acquired another TAMP, the $10 billion FTJ Fundchoice platform, in 2018. Orion currently offers access to the TAMP as part of its end-to-end wealth management platform, while Brinker’s $25 billion TAMP has operated since 1987. All told, more than $1 trillion in assets are now administered via Orion’s platform.
As part of the transaction, CLS Investments and Brinker Capital will be unified under the Brinker brand
“We have extensive experience investing in wealth management and financial technology businesses that show patterns of success, and we believe both Brinker and Orion fit that bill,” said Tony Salewski, managing director of Genstar, in released comments. “We believe that with our efforts to bring the two firms together, we’ll be able to redefine the wealth management industry and capitalize on the powerful market growth trends favoring the merger of these two industry-leading companies.”
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.