United Capital recently recruited a $415 million firm, marking its first foray into South Carolina as the company closes in on 80 offices nationwide.
Formerly McDonald, Cox & Klugh, the 24-year-old financial planning firm has a dozen employees spread across two offices in Seneca and Anderson, S.C. The team, led by Thomas K. McDonald, specializes in working with business owners, high-net-worth families and corporate executives.
McDonald, along with his partners T. Brandon Cox and Arthur Klugh will join United Capital as managing directors in Anderson. Meanwhile, Jim Charbonneau, a senior wealth advisor, and Taber Brown, a wealth advisor, will oversee the Seneca United Capital office.
The acquisition of the South Carolina-based team gives United Capital its fourth in the Southeast region. The Newport Beach, Calif.-based firm also has offices in Chapel Hill, N.C.; Atlanta and Little Rock, Ark.
“It’s an important part of the country for us,” said Matt Brinker, senior vice president of partner development and acquisitions at United Capital. He said the firm is focusing on growing its presence in the Midwest and Southeast.
Overall, 2015 is shaping up to be a strong year for United Capital, Brinker said. The firm has added more than $3 billion in assets under management through four partnership deals announced this earlier this year.
The acquisition announced Monday actually began to take shape about nine months ago, Brinker said.
“Over the years, we’ve been approached by a number of potential partners, both big and small. Each time, my partners and I would walk away thinking that ‘they’re not doing things any better than we already are.’ That changed when we met with United Capital,” McDonald said.
“When we first went through the Money Mind Analyzer, Honest Conversations and The Guidebook, we were impressed,” he added. “We didn’t have anything that we were doing that even compared.”
No stranger to deal making, McDonald, Cox & Klugh merged with Charbonneau’s office of the Investment Center in April 2013.