Advisory M&A

Modera Wealth Management announces acquisition of Parsec Financial; Modern Wealth Management acquires Barber Financial Group; and more.


Modera Wealth Management Acquires Parsec Financial

Modera Wealth Management LLC announced that the Parsec Financial team is joining Modera.

The transaction creates one of the largest independent wealth management firms on the East Coast, with more than $10.5 billion of assets under management and more than 180 employees across 14 offices between Massachusetts and Florida.

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Modera will remain independently managed and majority employee-owned. All of Parsec’s employees have joined Modera, and 24 of those employees have become Modera owners.

“Our two firms have succeeded thus far in large part because we share the same mission: to deliver sophisticated, fee-only wealth management in a highly personal way,” said Rick Manske, Parsec’s former CEO, in a statement. “Now, we have the unique opportunity to join forces and do that same work together as one stronger organization.”

Modern Wealth Management Acquires Barber Financial Group

Modern Wealth Management announced it has acquired the assets of Barber Financial GroupOsiwala Financial Group and Financial Security, collectively known as Barber Financial.

Barber Financial has offices across Kansas, Missouri and Michigan, serving more than 2,300 clients with more than $1.5 billion of collective assets under management.

This acquisition is Modern Wealth’s first transaction after its April founding, which was backed by $200 million in equity financing from Crestview Partners.

“Mike, Gary and I are very happy to launch the business with Barber Financial Group as our first acquisition,” said Jason Gordo, president of Modern Wealth, in a statement. “We will continue to leverage our capital resources in order to build Modern Wealth into a national firm that fulfills investors’ needs while continuously prioritizing the client experience.”

Wealth Enhancement Group Expands by Adding New Era Financial Advisors Inc.

Wealth Enhancement Group LLC announced the acquisition of New Era Financial Advisors Inc., a hybrid RIA located in both Wayzata and Hutchinson, Minnesota. 

New Era Financial Advisors’ team of six advisers and 11 support staff, led by Donald WarnerGrant Lindaman and Shad Ketcher, oversee more than $1.1 billion in client assets. 

“After four decades as a private, independent firm, the partners and advisors at New Era Financial are excited about joining forces with Wealth Enhancement Group, another well-respected Minnesota firm,” said Warner. “We feel our clients will greatly benefit from the additional services and resources Wealth Enhancement Group offers as a nationwide advisory firm.” 

Burnham Harbor Private Wealth Joins Sanctuary Wealth

Sanctuary Wealth welcomed Burnham Harbor Private Wealth, a Chicago-area Merrill Lynch practice with $1 billion in client assets.

The Burnham Harbor team provides wealth management solutions to high-net-worth families through financial guidance, legacy implementation, estate coordination, risk management strategies, retirement lifestyle continuation, tax minimization and transition counseling.

“Sanctuary was created to provide firms like Burnham Harbor the ability to confidently break away from wirehouses and enjoy the benefits of independence,” said Vince Fertitta, Sanctuary’s president of wealth management, in a statement.

“While we knew we had outgrown the wirehouse, our team didn’t want to go out on our own,” James Corrigan, managing partner at Burnham Harbor said. “In Sanctuary, we found a partner that provides the right balance of support, freedom, flexibility, and optionality we were looking for in a new home.”

USI Consulting Acquires Actuarial, Retirement Plan Consultancy

USI expands its actuarial and retirement capabilities with the 68-person team of Hooker & Holcombe.


USI Consulting Group, a retirement plan consulting and benefits administration firm, has acquired Hooker & Holcombe Inc. an actuarial, investment advisory and retirement plan consultancy, the Glastonbury, Connecticut-based USI announced Monday.

USI will bring on Hooker & Holcombe’s team of 68 employees, including the executive team led by Richard S. Sych. Bloomfield, Connecticut-based Hooker & Holcombe provides actuarial services, including winding down defined benefit pension plans, as well as 401(k) and 403(b) plan design, consulting, and participant education and engagement.

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“For more than 67 years, through the expertise of our dedicated and knowledgeable professionals, H&H has built a strong reputation for delivering effective retirement plan solutions that exceed client expectations,” Sych, Hooker & Holcombe’s president, said in a statement. “We look forward to advancing this longstanding tradition of service excellence through our partnership with USI Consulting Group.”

The companies did not disclose terms of the deal; retirement M&A consultancy Wise Rhino Group represented Hooker & Holcombe in the transaction.

“Hooker & Holcombe has been one of the most well-respected names in actuarial and retirement services for many years,” Peter Campagna, a partner at Wise Rhino Group, said in a statement. “Partnering with a dynamic, growing and diversified firm like USI gives the H&H team an expanded base of resources and tools to take their already outstanding service to another level. These two firms are a terrific match and have a very bright future together.”

USI offers plan advice, consulting and administrative services to retirement plan sponsor clients and participants through 600 retirement advisers, according to its website. The firm currently has more than 3,800 retirement plan clients representing $33 billion in assets under advisement.

“We are thrilled to welcome the talented professionals from H&H to the USI family and look forward to strengthening USI’s retirement consulting expertise throughout the country,” Bill Tremko, CEO and president of USI, said in a statement.

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