DENVER, September 17, 2019—Mercer Advisors, a national Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) with Assets Under Management (AUM) exceeding $16.5 billion, announced today a recapitalization whereby Oak Hill Capital will acquire an equity stake in the company from current private equity owners Genstar Capital (“Genstar”) and Lovell Minnick Partners.
Mercer Advisors is one of the largest independent wealth managers in the U.S., serving clients with a focus on the mass affluent and high net-worth markets. Based in Denver, Mercer Advisors has a national footprint with 44 offices and over 370 employees. The Company has nearly 35 years of wealth management experience and differentiates itself as a total wealth manager serving investors as a fiduciary and providing a broad range of services including financial planning, investments, estate planning and tax planning and preparation services.
Under Genstar’s and Lovell Minnick’s ownership since Genstar’s original investment in 2015, Mercer Advisors’ AUM has grown dramatically, driven by addition of new client assets and acquisitions of other advisory firms from less than $5.8 billion in AUM to over $16.5 billion in AUM. In that span, Mercer Advisors invested heavily in enhancing its services for clients including the expansion of its investment offerings, significantly adding talent and expertise to its estate and tax planning teams, and extending its regional office footprint to over 40 regional offices. Mercer Advisors also enhanced its referral relationships with Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity Investments, and TD Ameritrade. Over the past three-and-a-half years Mercer Advisors has completed 23 acquisitions that expanded its footprint, talent and expertise. In addition, in 2018, Mercer Advisors opened a new, full-service “Central Hub” headquarters in Denver to house multiple teams and functions to better support the dozens of Mercer Advisors’ regional offices.
Dave Welling, Chief Executive Officer of Mercer Advisors, said, “Mercer Advisors’ vision centers on our unconditional commitment to our clients and working collaboratively with them to create the best context possible for their Economic Freedom™. With the support of our private equity partners we have been able to make significant investments in building a comprehensive set of services for our clients and in expanding that vision to new parts of the country.” Added Welling, “Genstar Capital and Lovell Minnick were instrumental in our development and we are delighted that Genstar will be staying on as an investor and partner. Our future is even brighter with Oak Hill being added as a strategic investor. Key to our process in selecting Oak Hill as our partner was the unique combination of cultural alignment and their expertise in supporting management teams leading growth and change.”
Steve Puccinelli, Partner of Oak Hill, said, “Mercer Advisors is a unique integrated registered investment adviser with multiple levers to compound value and is well-positioned to further accelerate its already impressive growth. We are excited to partner with CEO Dave Welling, his outstanding team, and existing investor Genstar to further help the company expand organically and through strategic acquisitions.”
Tony Salewski, Managing Director of Genstar, said, “We are extremely gratified by the success of Mercer Advisors, having worked with management to create a strategic wealth management platform that delivers a truly integrated and robust client experience. Through a dynamic blend of organic and inorganic growth, the business has rapidly achieved scale and established itself as a market-leading RIA with immense future potential. We are excited to continue as investors and look forward to further building Mercer Advisors in our new partnership with Oak Hill.”
“We have enjoyed our collaboration with the Mercer Advisors management team for over a decade. They have performed at a very high level and achieved premier status in wealth management. We wish the team continued success as the Company writes its next chapter,” said Jeffrey Lovell, Co-Chairman of Lovell Minnick Partners.
Goldman Sachs & Co. served as lead financial advisor, Moelis & Company LLC assisted as financial advisors, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal counsel to Mercer Advisors on the transaction. UBS served as financial advisor and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to Oak Hill Capital on the transaction.
Established in 1985, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. (“Mercer Advisors”) is a total wealth management firm that provides comprehensive, fee-based investment management, financial planning, family office services, retirement benefits and distribution planning, estate and tax planning, asset protection expertise, and corporate trustee and trust administration services. Mercer Advisors is the parent company of Mercer Global Advisors, one of the largest Registered Investment Advisors and financial planning firms in the U.S. with over $16.5 billion in client assets. Headquartered in Denver, Mercer Advisors is privately held, has over 370 employees, and operates nationally through 44 offices across the country. For more information, please visit: www.merceradvisors.com.
Oak Hill Capital is a private equity firm managing funds with approximately $15 billion of initial capital commitments and co-investments since inception. Over the past 33 years, Oak Hill Capital and its predecessors have invested in over 90 private equity transactions across broad segments of the U.S. and global economies. Oak Hill Capital applies an industry-focused, theme-based approach to investing in the following sectors: Consumer, Retail & Distribution; Industrials; Media & Communications; and Services. Oak Hill works actively in partnership with management to implement strategic and operational initiatives to create franchise value. For more information, please visit: www.oakhill.com.
Genstar Capital is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for over 30 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar currently has approximately $17 billion of assets under management and targets investments focused on targeted segments of the financial services, healthcare, industrial technology, and software industries. For more information on Genstar, please visit: www.gencap.com.
Lovell Minnick Partners is a private equity firm focused on investments in the global financial services industry, including related technology and business services companies. The firm partners with outstanding management teams to help grow their companies and build value for investors through a combination of driving growth initiatives, strategic activity and operational improvements. Since its inception in 1999, Lovell Minnick Partners has become a leader in their chosen space, raising $3.3 billion of committed capital from leading institutional investors including public and private pensions, insurance companies, endowments and foundations. To date, the firm has completed more than 50 portfolio company investments.
Contact for Mercer Advisors and Genstar:
Chris Tofalli Public Relations, Chris Tofalli
914-834-4334
For Oak Hill:
Kekst CNC, Jeremy Fielding
jeremy.fielding@kekstcnc.com
