Epic Snags Recordkeeper Retirement Direct

Epic Retirement Plan Services, a subsidiary of NBT Bancorp Inc., announced Tuesday the acquisition of recordkeeper and third-party administrator Retirement Direct.

Epic RPS will add Retirement Direct’s more than $2 billion in assets under management and more than 500 retirement plans to its retirement practice that includes recordkeeping and TPA services, according to the announcement. The firms did not disclose the terms of the transaction.

Retirement Direct was founded in 1997 and is based in Cornelius, North Carolina. The firm will join Rochester, New York-based Epic’s national practice that currently oversees 5,000 retirement plans and 300,000 participants.

“Retirement Direct and EPIC RPS have shared values and a similar market focus,” Dan Brenner, Retirement Direct’s president, said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to provide our clients with customized support and to offering the proprietary customer-facing technology offered by EPIC RPS as an enhancement to the experience of our plan participants.”

In separate news on Tuesday, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. announced the acquisition of $720 million wealth manager Private Asset Management Inc.

Mercer, which provides retirement benefits and distribution planning, along with investment management, tax planning and insurance solutions, will add San Diego-based PAM’s more than 600 clients and advisement capabilities that include financial planning, investment management and tax planning and preparation.

“When looking to combine with a new partner, it was essential that they too believe in providing their clientele with an enhanced service offering, not limited to just financial planning and investment management,” Jeff Witt, PAM’s CEO, said in a statement. “Once we began talks with Mercer Advisors and David Barton, Vice Chairman who heads up M&A for Mercer Advisors, we knew we had found the right partner with Mercer Advisors offering a full set of family office services under their large roof.”

Mercer Advisors Inc., the parent company of Mercer Global Advisors, is majority-owned by private equity firms Oak Hill Capital and Genstar Capital and oversees more than $48 billion in client assets and more than 900 employees.