Advisory M&A News – 12/11/23

Hub Acquires Longbow Financial Services and JRP Financial Services

Hub International Ltd. announced it has acquired the assets of Longbow Financial Services LLC, a financial consulting firm in Spokane, Washington, specializing in corporate retirement planning and individual client wealth. Michael Furrer, Longbow Financial’s managing partner and founder, and his team will join Hub Northwest.

“We welcome Michael and the Longbow Financial team to HUB as part of our growing presence in the Northwest,” Joe DeNoyior, president of Hub retirement and private wealth, said in a statement.

Hub has also acquired JRP Financial Services Inc., a an independent benefits brokerage firm based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and specializing in employee benefits, pension planning and human resources. Jason Conley, benefits consultant; Lise Gaudreau, client relations specialist; and the JRP team will join Hub Prairies.

CAPTRUST Expands in Pacific Northwest With Trutina Financial

CAPTRUST Financial Advisors announced the addition of Trutina Financial, based in Bellevue, Washington, and overseeing more than $1.1 billion in assets across institutional and individual clients.

Like CAPTRUST, Trutina serves clients across three lines of business: family wealth management, retirement plan services and corporate cash management for business clients, endowments and foundations.

Geoffrey Schock, Trutina’s managing partner and chief compliance officer, and Matt Myers, its senior partner and chief strategy officer,  joined CAPTRUST as part of the deal, along with 13 colleagues.

“The more we learned, the more we realized the folks at CAPTRUST are in this business for the right reasons,” Myers said in a statement. “They will help us grow up as a firm and be able to keep serving our clients with more sophisticated services. Plus, we’re able to put equity into the hands of our people.”

Mercer Advisors Acquires Paragon Wealth Strategies

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. announced the acquisition of Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC, a wealth management firm located in Jacksonville, Florida. The firm was founded in 2008 by Jonathan Castle and Michelle Ash, managing partners. Scott Snider and Ian Aquilar later joined and became shareholders in Paragon. The firm serves more than 400 clients with assets under management of $495 million.

“As we sought the ideal partner, a cultural alignment of commitment to clients as deep as ours was an absolute must,” said Castle in a statement. “After meeting David Barton, vice chairman who heads up mergers and acquisitions for Mercer Advisors, and Dave Welling, Mercer Advisors’ CEO, as well as other members of the Mercer Advisors’ team, we knew we had found the right partners.”

Mercer also announced the acquisition of Middleton Financial Management LLC, a wealth management firm located and operating in New Jersey and South Carolina, founded by John Middleton, doing business as Brighton Financial Planning. An independent, fee-only, RIA, Brighton has AUM of approximately $90 million.

“The fact that Mercer Advisors can support my team with additional resources, take over middle and back-office responsibilities, and provide my clients with estate planning advice, documentation and administration, in addition to tax return services, made them the perfect partner for us,” Middleton said in a statement.

Mammini Company Joins Commonwealth

Commonwealth Financial Network, a firm providing financial advisers with integrated business solutions, announced that the Mammini Co. has joined its network of affiliated advisers.

Mammini Co. is a former Lincoln Investments firm from San Diego. The firm has nearly $3 billion in client assets. Owner and president Mike Mammini is one of four advisers, including son Mitch Mammini, on the staff of eight. The firm has worked with its clients, located throughout California and the West Coast, since its founding more than 30 years ago.

Labor unions and corporate retirement plans are a “core component” of the firm’s practice, according to a statement from Mike Mammini: “The foundation of our defined contribution retirement plan practice stems from my father’s leadership in the Sheet Metal Workers’ Union and has forged our roll-up-your-sleeves approach to designing sustainable retirement plans for working-class families.”

“Partnering with Commonwealth gives us, and our clients, access to sophisticated technology that we just didn’t have before,” added Mike Mammini. “We see big value in Commonwealth’s institutional knowledge, the full Investment Research team, and the accessible support of being eight miles away from the San Diego home office.”