Advisory M&A News – 1/16/24

BlackRock Increases Alts Exposure With GIP Acquisition

BlackRock continued its expansion into alternative investments by announcing Friday that it was buying one of the world’s largest infrastructure private equity firms, Global Infrastructure Partners, for $12.5 billion.

The deal, expected to close in the third quarter, is composed of $3 billion in cash and 12 billion shares of BlackRock common stock, which were priced at $800 per share Friday afternoon. Approximately 30% of the total consideration, all in stock, will be deferred and is expected to be issued in approximately five years, subject to the satisfaction of certain post-closing events, according to information from BlackRock about the acquisition.

“Infrastructure is a $1 trillion market forecasted to be one of the fastest-growing segments of private markets in the years ahead,” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said during an earnings call on which the deal was unveiled. Alts now amount to 3% of BlackRock’s assets but bring in 10% of its fees, according to Bloomberg.

The GIP acquisition is BlackRock’s biggest since its 2009 buyout of Barclays Global Investors, which made Fink’s firm the largest provider of exchange-traded funds. GIP has about $100 billion in assets, which will supplement BlackRock’s $47 billion in infrastructure holdings. BlackRock’s total assets under management are $9.1 trillion.

SageView Advisory Group Acquires Palmer Retirement Consulting

SageView Advisory Group announced it has acquired Palmer Retirement Consulting, a Fort Wayne, Indiana-based advisory firm serving both institutional retirement plan clients and wealth management clients.

Dan Palmer, president of Palmer Retirement Plan Consulting, joined SageView as a managing director. Palmer team member Kristina Dearing joined as a retirement plan associate.

“We’re honored to have Dan and Kristina join our team as we continue to expand our institutional retirement and wealth management practice,” Jon Upham, president and head of institutional retirement at SageView, said in a statement.

Palmer began his financial services career in the national investment division at Lincoln Financial and was later a vice president at Hylant Financial Services and an investment adviser at Rehmann. He founded Palmer Retirement Consulting in 2016.

“I’m thrilled to be joining SageView at such a dynamic time for the firm and our industry,” Palmer said in a statement. “I look forward to benefiting from SageView’s scale, back-office efficiencies and business development infrastructure to support my clients’ goals.”

Financial Advisers Team Up to Launch Avise Financial

Financial advisers and co-founders Katrina Soelter and Leighann Miko announced the launch of Avise Financial, a co-operative platform for registered investment advisers.

“The financial advising profession is ripe for disruption,” Soelter said in a statement. “Recognizing the delicate nature of the succession process and having personally experienced the burnout that comes with running our own RIA business, we were keenly aware of the immense potential that lay before us.”

Advisers can build their business on the Avise online platform, which offers resources on how to launch and run a firm. Potential clients can fill out a short questionnaire on the Avise website to be matched with their own independent adviser. Member advisers on the platform also receive voting rights on how the cooperative operates.

“Too many RIAs pay high fees to vendors and partners to operate their businesses, impacting their bottom line and prohibiting their ability to work with clients that fill their soul,” Miko said in a statement. “We’re focused on tapping into that potential by incorporating a residency program in our first year of operation to help improve both diversity and capacity in the industry.”