By Kenneth Corbin

Mercer Advisors unveiled two moves this week to expand its advisor footprint and its leadership ranks.

The Denver-based firm on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Financial Partners Group, a registered investment advisor with $660 million in assets under management based in the Nashville suburb of Gallatin, Tenn. Mercer says the deal brings its asset count in the Nashville market to about $1.6 billion.

Then on Thursday, Mercer announced that it had hired Alisa Maute, a former LPL Financial executive, to serve as head of client development, leading a team of more than 100 that has doubled in size over the last two years.

Mercer's client-development program is focused on organic growth, aiming to help advisors expand their client base without having to do the prospecting work themselves.

"Client-development professionals work to identify prospective clients and thoughtfully pair them with an advisor best suited to solve for the complexities of their financial lives," Mercer says.

Maute had most recently been an executive vice president at LPL overseeing investment product management and retirement and had previously headed up advisor growth solutions. She left LPL in October and started at Mercer this month. With Maute on board, Mercer says that women now account for 48% of its leadership positions.

Maute says that Mercer stood out among the "hundreds" of top advisory firms she's worked with in her career, and that she was particularly drawn to the firm's service offering for wealthy clients.

"Being able to deliver this level of family-office services for clients across the country, including for some of the most sophisticated and demanding clients, is distinct and compelling," she says.

Mercer's latest acquisition plays in that space. Financial Partners Group works with an array of clients, ranging from mass-affluent investors to ultrahigh-net-worth families, as well as more than a dozen retirement plans, according to its latest Form ADV regulatory filing. High-net-worth retail clients account for the lion's share of its assets under management, however.

Two advisors and four support staff joined Mercer through the acquisition, which closed on Jan. 31. This was Mercer's first deal to close this year, but will hardly be the last. A Mercer representative says the firm has more than 40 deals at various stages in its pipeline.

It wasn't the only large firm to announce a sizable deal this week. Wealth Enhancement, based in Minneapolis, said on Thursday it has acquired a team of six advisors and five support staff who oversaw $618 in client assets at Capstone Wealth Advisors in Salem, Ore.

A Wealth Enhancement spokeswoman says one advisor didn't make the move and will continue to do business under the name Capstone Wealth Advisors. The firm didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

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February 06, 2025 15:46 ET (20:46 GMT)

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