M&A
IM Global Partner
The global asset manager has agreed to acquire Litman Gregory, a wealth and asset management boutique.
Litman Gregory, founded by Ken Gregory and Craig Litman in 1987 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, provides independent asset management services to institutional and private clients in the US and internationally.
IM Global Partner plans to operate Litman Gregory Wealth Management as a separate business unit.
This acquisition is subject to the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.
WSFS Financial Corporation
The financial group has agreed to merge with Bryn Mawr Bank Corporation in a transaction valued at approximately $976.4m ($701.4m, €819.6m).
Simultaneously with the merger, the Bryn Mawr Trust Company, the wholly owned subsidiary of Bryn Mawr, will merge into WSFS Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of WSFS.
The combined business will have nearly $20bn in assets and an approximately $43bn wealth management business.
After closing, Frank Leto, president and chief executive of Bryn Mawr, will join the boards of directors of WSFS Financial and WSFS Bank along with two mutually agreed upon current directors of Bryn Mawr’s Board.
The transaction is expected to close early in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Cetera
The wealth firm has acquired Magis Financial Partners, a Philadelphia-based financial services firm.
The separate registered investment adviser (RIA) firm will transition to Cetera.
Through this transaction, Magis will now become a Cetera-owned group.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Mercer Global Advisors
The RIA firm has acquired Epstein & White Financial and related entity Epstein & White Retirement Income Solutions for an undisclosed sum.
The wealth management firm located in San Diego, California serves approximately 1,300 clients.
EWF was founded in 2013 by Brad White, focusing on delivering wealth management services to their mass affluent and high net worth clients. EWF has over 20 team members who will be joining the Mercer Advisors’ team.
CI Financial
The global asset and wealth management company has acquired Barrett Asset Management, a New York-based RIA firm.
Barrett offers wealth planning and investment management services.
Since entering the US market in January 2020, CI has made 15 acquisitions.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021 and the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
People moves
Rockefeller Capital Management
The firm has bolstered its private wealth business with the hire of its first San Antonio-based team.
Martin Lawyer Daniels is led by Elmer Martin, managing director and private wealth adviser, Patty Lawyer, managing director and private wealth adviser and Brett Daniels, first vice president and private wealth adviser.
The team also includes associate vice presidents and senior client associates Judith Fernandez and Sylvia Hydrick, as well as client associate Terry Pawelek.
The team comes to Rockefeller from Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
Also, Rockefeller Capital Management has named Andrea Lawrence as the head of philanthropy within Rockefeller’s global family office.
Lawrence joins Rockefeller from Tapestry Advisors, an independent family office and philanthropy consulting firm, which she founded in 2007.
Lastly, the firm has hired the Maentz Machlovitch Group in Los Angeles.
The team is made up of:
- Hans Maentz, managing director and private wealth adviser;
- Bern Machlovitch, managing director and private wealth adviser; and
- Ben Helvey, team portfolio manager.
The trio joins from Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management.
Goodman Financial Corporation
The wealth firm has named Linda McCoy as chief client officer.
Most recently, she was a TD Ameritrade branch manager.
Insigneo
The Miami-based RIA firm hired a financial adviser team from Wells Fargo.
This follows the news that Wells Fargo will be closing the doors on its international wealth management unit.
The team is comprised of financial advisers Alain Guerra and Edward Varona, along with sales associate Vivian Pino.
The team manages client assets from the US, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
UBS
The wealth manager has hired a six-person team that works as The Fortney Group in Houston, Texas.
The team is led by financial advisers Grant Fortney, Scott Fortney and Michael Nichley. Brandon Frey, Tami Grove, and Mary Patranella are also part of the team.
They join from Morgan Stanley.
