Mercer Global Advisors, one of the nation’s largest and most acquisitive registered investment advisors with $81 billion in assets, has acquired two RIA firms, one with a footprint in Idaho and California and a tax-focused firm based in Central Oregon.
West Oak Capital, an Eagle, Idaho-headquartered firm, brings about $500 million in client assets across 100 families. The firm has an additional office in Westlake Village, Calif. The RIA was founded in 2003 by Byron Snider, president of West Oak, and his wife, Lisa Snider.
“Joining forces with Mercer Advisors allows us to broaden what we can offer to our clients and their families,” said Byron Snider. “We’ll gain access to additional resources, technology and infrastructure that will elevate our service model while maintaining the personal touch our clients have always valued.”
West Oak also includes Senior Partner Jerry Clebanoff, Senior Vice President Tony G. Somoza, Director of Operations Darin P. White, Portfolio Manager Jonathan Howard, and two operations staff.
Mercer also announced its acquisition of Eagle Wealth Management, a Bend, Ore.-based RIA with $350 million in assets across 300 clients. The acquisition also includes Eagle Wealth Accounting, a CPA firm.
The 10-person firm was founded in 2008 by husband-and-wife Chad and Cami Staskal. It builds upon Mercer’s presence in Bend, which the firm established earlier this year when it added advisors Dave Stuehling and John Swanson, each with their own distinct practices.
This follows news last month that Mercer purchased Family Wealth Planning Group, a Naples, Fla.-based wealth management firm with $1.2 billion in client assets. That deal represented Mercer’s third $1 billion-plus transaction in as many months.
Mercer launched its M&A strategy in 2016, with the acquisitions of Tufton Capital Management, a $810 million AUM RIA in Hunt Valley, Md., and Lewis Wealth Management, a Denver-based RIA with about $75 million in AUM. The RIA surpassed 100 acquisitions in May.
Mercer also recently announced that more than half (674) of its 1,300 employees are now equity owners in the RIA. That’s up tenfold from 2018, when there were fewer than 70 employee shareholders.
Mercer is majority owned by Oak Hill Capital, Genstar Capital, Altas Partners and GIC, a global institutional investor.
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