Cbiz Adds to Retirement Plan Capability With APA Acquisition

Financial, insurance and retirement plan advisory Cbiz Inc. announced Wednesday an addition to its retirement plan practice with the acquisition of American Pension Advisors Ltd.

Cleveland-based Cbiz will bring on APA, with its reported $2.9 million in revenue from retirement plan consulting for more than 1,200 clients, according to the announcement. The Indianapolis-based advisory has 14 employees to design, implement and administer retirement plans, including 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), defined benefit and cash balance, according to the announcement.

Cbiz joins other insurance and workplace benefit aggregators who have been acquiring independent retirement advisories in recent years to expand service offerings, as well as gain access to retirement plan participants.

“The acquisition of American Pension Advisors brings valuable talent, expertise, and capacity to bolster our growing Retirement Investment Services business,” Jerry Grisko, president and CEO of Cbiz, said in a statement. “Working together, we will be able to offer our collective clients a broader array of services.”

The deal also adds to CBIZ’s Indianapolis market presence, the CEO noted, after the firm acquired the city’s fifth-largest accounting firm, Somerset CPAs and Advisors, in February.

“We are so excited to join forces with a nationally recognized company like CBIZ,” APA qualified plan adviser David Behrmann said in a statement. “I’m pleased that our team members will now have access to additional technical support, resources and tools that will make them more successful and better serve our clients.”

Cbiz’s most recent retirement plan acquisition was in 2021, when it acquired the assets of third-party administrator Wright Retirement Services LLC, according to Cbiz’s 2022 annual report. The retirement and investment solutions business is about 15% of CBIZ’s total revenue, which was $1.4 billion in 2022, according to the firm’s 2023 first quarter investor presentation.

The advisory released research in May noting that small and medium-sized businesses are struggling with employee attraction and retention, which points to them prioritizing strong retirement plan benefits and wages to keep talent.