Mercer Global Advisors is acquiring MDK Private Wealth Management, a Seattle-based firm managing $2.5 billion in assets.
MDK was founded in 2020 and works primarily with ultra-high-net-worth clients, with services ranging from financial planning, trust, estate and tax planning and even private aviation and boat advisory services.
Co-founders Paul Meyer, Jaimi Dennehy and Chris Kalafatis run the firm. The acquisition sprang from their desire to build the firm’s scale to make a platform “for institutional and ongoing care,” according to Kalafatis.
“Knowing this, we were faced with the decision of whether to build this platform or determine if one existed that was aligned with our vision of what a national family office offering could be,” Dennehy said in a statement.
Dennehy said Mercer, which manages more than $56 billion in client assets, enticed MDK with its expertise in various services, including tax consulting and return preparation and ERISA plan services support. MDK’s principals were also sold by Mercer Advisors Vice Chairman Dave Barton’s assessment that Mercer provides a “Mayo Clinic approach” to financial services, Meyer said.
Mercer CEO Dave Welling said the “tailored services” for UHNW clients remained one of the firm’s fastest-growing business areas, and MDK would slot into that burgeoning field. The MDK addition also boosts Mercer’s Pacific Northwest presence, as well as its presence in Seattle, Welling said.
Last month, Mercer announced it would hire Gün Keresteci as chief financial officer from McKinsey & Co., where he was global head of finance. He succeeded Michael Henry, now the firm’s vice president of M&A finance. Mercer recently also hired five new executives for its M&A partner development and integration teams from LPL Financial, Charles Schwab and NewEdge Advisors, among others.
Earlier this year, Mercer purchased River Glen Wealth Counselors, an Iowa-based three-person team managing $265 million in assets for 160 clients. It also acquired Transitions Wealth Management, an RIA with more than 400 clients and about $465 million in assets; the firm became Mercer’s fourth Colorado office, besides its Denver headquarters.
Mercer added more than 260 advisors in 2023, excluding advisors who joined via acquisitions. It’s also remained one of the industry’s most ravenous acquirers, with 12 M&A deals in 2023 and 20 in 2022, totaling about $13 billion.
Mercer has 80 offices throughout 31 states, employing about 1,060 (including 780 advisors). It’s majority-owned by Genstar, Oak Hill Capital and Atlas Partners and has grown its assets by more than 300% since 2017.