Wealth Enhancement Group, an independent hybrid advisory backed by private equity firm TA Associates, has acquired Reby Advisors, a registered investment advisor in Danbury, Conn., with $727 million in client assets. This is Wealth Enhancement Group’s first deal of 2021 and further expands its presence in the New York metropolitan area, where it now has eight offices.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Park Sutton advised Reby on the transaction.
Reby, founded by CEO Robert Reby in 1989, has six client-facing advisors, and it specializes in small business owners, pre-retirees and retirees. The firm provides investment management, as well as financial, retirement, tax, education and legacy planning services.
The addition of Reby brings WEG’s total assets to $27.2 billion.
WEG, previously backed by Lightyear Capital before TA Associates acquired it, has had a robust acquisition strategy in place since 2013. Just last month, it acquired SVA Companies’ wealth management and trust businesses, collectively known as SVA Financial Group.
The latest acquisition of Reby is part of WEG’s larger strategy to build local scale in major metro areas, and the firm has been building a presence in the New York area. In October, it acquired 10-15 Associates, a New York RIA with seven financial advisors and $923 million in AUM, led by co-founders Deborah and Michael DeMatteo.
“As we expand our geographic footprint in markets around the country, including the New York metro area—encompassing the city itself as well as the New Jersey, New York and Connecticut suburbs—we aim to make strategic investments in high-quality advisory firms whose entrepreneurial spirit and desire for constant improvement aligns with our own,” Wealth Enhancement Group CEO Jeff Dekko said in a statement.
WEG recently hired two new executives to iterate on and improve its technology and operations, and help the firm stand out in an increasingly crowded field of acquirers seeking to bring economies of scale to the RIA industry through consolidation.