Advisory M&A

Hub Expands in Southeast With Benefits Consultancy Acquisition

Hub International Ltd. has acquired Edbrooke/Stelcner and Associates Inc., a Coral Gables, Florida-based employee benefits brokerage. Chicago-based Hub did not disclose terms of the transaction.

Edbrooke/Stelcner adds to Hub’s 401(k) retirement plan consulting, HR benefits and life insurance programs to large employers in the Southeast, according to an announcement. The employee benefits firm specializes in the aviation, hospitality and health care industries.

Lissette Fernandez, Edbrooke/Stelcner’s president and co-founder, and her team will join Hub’s South Florida offices and take the name Edbrooke/Stelcner and Associates, a Hub International company.

Nava Benefits Acquires Consulting Firm Nielsen Benefits

Employee benefits brokerage firm Nava Benefits announced it has acquired Nielsen Benefits Group Inc., a company that designs benefits solutions aimed at lowering health care costs for small and midsize employers.

Nava’s acquisition of NBG is intended to provide “deep consulting expertise with cutting-edge technology” to bring a “modern benefits approach” to more midsize employers, according to a press release.

“In getting to know the NBG team, three things were crystal clear: They share our belief that benefits brokers have an outsized ability to fix healthcare; they care deeply about leveling up the member experience and supporting employees throughout each stage of their healthcare journey; and they actually deliver on the promise of lowering costs,” Brandon Weber, CEO and co-founder of Nava Benefits, said in a statement.

Cerity Brings On Wealth Manager Lumina Financial

Cerity Partners LLC is merging with Lumina Financial Consultants LLC, a wealth management and financial planning firm that focuses on serving women, their families and their businesses.

Lumina’s offices in the San Francisco and Richmond, Virginia, metro areas will take on the Cerity Partners name, as led by co-principals Jeanie Schwarz and Laurie Fried. The addition of Lumina Financial will expand Cerity’s ability to provide financial planning and wealth management to women.

“We see this partnership as a terrific way to enhance the breadth of our firm’s services with talented partners and colleagues in key markets while also expanding our existing capabilities in serving the needs of women, their families and their businesses,” Claire O’Keefe, Cerity Partners’ head of partner development, said in a statement.

Wealth Consulting Adds V Wealth Team, $2B AUA

The Las-Vegas-based Wealth Consulting Group is bringing on Overland Park, Kansas-based V Wealth Advisor LLC to expand its investment adviser team and assets under advisement.

The V Wealth acquisition will bring with it 43 investment adviser representatives, increasing WCG’s team to 145. The deal will also bring an additional $2 billion in AUA, bringing WCG’s total AUA to $7 billion.

“We believe that WCG’s unique value proposition combining the financial planning support to advisers and flexible separate account investment management strategies will help the former V Wealth advisers offer more value to their clients,” Jimmy Lee, CEO and founder of WCG, said in a statement.

The V Wealth team is led by Tom Blumer, Brett Lange and Dan Cherra.

“The WCG team provides exactly what our advisors have been asking for, which are additional services they believe are valuable to their clients,” Blumer said in a statement.