Denver-based Mercer Global Advisors is buying a West Des Moines, Iowa firm comprising a team of three managing close to $275 million for 160 clients.
River Glen Wealth Counselors was founded in 2008 by Matt Busick and includes Randy Von Fumetti, an advisor who merged his practice with River Glen in 2015, and Lauren Kaniuk, who joined as director of marketing in 2019 and stepped into a financial planner role last summer.
With a niche focus on serving corporate executives, the team provides retirement, tax and estate planning, investment management and advice around equity compensation and insurance.
According to Busick, River Glen was at a crossroads and needed to either invest heavily to support continued growth or join a firm like Mercer.
“We realized we shared the same mission, vision and values,” he said. “While at the same time allowing us to provide an expanded service offering to our clientele like in-house estate planning, tax return preparation, ERISA services, corporate trustee services, etc.”
Founded in 1985, Mercer has 80 office locations in 31 states, with about 1,010 employees—including close to 780 advisors—overseeing around $50 billion in total client assets.
Majority owned by Genstar, Oak Hill Capital and Altas Partners, Mercer has grown assets by more than 300% since 2017. On a mission to establish itself as a national RIA, Mercer refreshed its branding and messaging early last year to reflect that goal.
The firm is one of the nation’s most active acquirers with 11 M&A deals last year, representing more than $4 billion in acquired assets. This followed its most active year on record, 2022, when Mercer announced 20 deals totaling about $13 billion in transacted assets. The only firm to come close in volume since tracking began is Wealth Enhancement Group, which completed 19 deals in 2021.