Mercer Advisors, a fast-growing registered investment advisory headquartered in Denver, announced its fourth deal this month, with the acquisition of McDermott Advisory Group, a Wilmington, Del.-based RIA with more than $150 million in assets under management. Mercer, which has been quickly buying up RIAs, now has 36 offices across the country and nearly $15 billion in total assets.
It’s the latest in the firm’s bid to create arguably the first truly national RIA firm. So far this year, the firm has made a total of eight deals, including McDermott.
Earlier this month, the RIA announced it was buying Beacon Wealth Management, a New Jersey-based RIA managing $230 million. A week later, it acquired Sigma Investment Management Company, a Portland-based firm managing more than $500 million. A few days later, the Genstar-backed firm scooped up Financial & Investment Management Group, an RIA managing $600 million.
McDermott Advisory Group, founded in 2006 by Daniel M. McDermott, provides financial planning, investment management and related services for 150 clients.
“The ability to design my ‘life after’ sale was important to me as I transition from active operator to just focusing on doing things I love,” McDermott said. “Working with Mercer Advisors extends my career by creating work-life balance.”
Mercer has a bit of a different model than other big players in the RIA M&A space in that it integrates the firms it brings onboard. It allows advisors to offload back-office and compliance work and outsource investment management to its 14-member investment committee. Mercer also offers family office services, such as tax strategy and preparation, estate planning and corporate trustee advisory.
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