Mariner Wealth Advisors, one of the nation’s most acquisitive wealth managers, is buying two institutional consulting firms with a combined $104 billion in assets under advisement to form the nucleus of a new unit catering to institutional clients.
The acquisitions will nearly double Mariner’s AUA, which the firm said was $122 billion at the end of last year.
Mariner has agreed to buy Winter Park, Fla.-based AndCo Consulting and Covington, Ky.-based Fourth Street Performance Partners in a simultaneous transaction. It plans to merge the two firms, which serve government, corporate, and nonprofit institutional clients.
Mariner said it expects to close the transaction in early April but didn’t disclose deal terms and declined to provide an AUA breakdown of the firms it is acquiring.
The two firms will operate under a new Mariner Institutional brand, according to Mariner.
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“The complementary nature of our clients and services will support our joint growth and offer existing clients and prospects additional services that will help enhance the overall client outcome,” said Marty Bicknell, CEO and president of Mariner Wealth Advisors.
The acquired firms will retain their 100 professionals and continue serving clients out of locations in Covington, Ky., Winter Park, Fla., Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Reno, Nev.
Founded in 2006 and based in Overland Park, Kan., Mariner has grown into one of the nation’s largest registered investment advisor firms by aggressively recruiting advisors and acquiring other firms. The firm had $65.9 billion in assets under management, according to its most recently filed Form ADV with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Mariner is backed by private-equity firm Leonard Green & Partners.
Write to Andrew Welsch at andrew.welsch@barrons.com