Merit Financial Snags 10th Commonwealth Advisor Team
Merit Financial Advisors, an Atlanta-based hybrid registered investment advisor overseeing $32.9 billion in client assets, continues its streak of buying former Commonwealth Financial Network firms, in the wake of LPL Financial’s acquisition of the independent broker/dealer last year.
Last month, Merit acquired Moldenhauer & Associates, an Orchard Park, N.Y.-based wealth management firm with $1.1 billion in assets across nearly 1,900 households. The firm is led by Brett Moldenhauer, who joins Merit along with his firm’s 12 employees.
This marks Merit’s 12th acquisition this year and the 10th former Commonwealth team to join the RIA. Merit has completed 63 deals since its inception.
“Moldenhauer & Associates is exactly the type of firm we want to partner with as we continue expanding Merit,” said David Wahlen, executive vice president/strategic partners of Merit Financial Advisors, in a statement. “Brett and his team have built an exceptional business with a strong culture, deep client relationships and an impressive track record of organic growth.”
Just as importantly, Brett is looking ahead. He wants to continue growing the firm, create opportunities for his team and make sure the business is positioned to serve clients for generations to come,” Whalen said.
Moldenhauer was founded in 1974 by Richard Moldenhauer, Brett’s father, who started his career in the life insurance business. The team had been with Commonwealth since 2016, when they had less than $150 million in assets. The firm is on track to add about $100 million in new assets this year.
Moldenhauer said his firm chose Merit for its support around marketing, human resources, technology and operations. But Merit also stood out for the number of Commonwealth advisors who were joining.
“What caught my attention was the caliber of people who were choosing Merit,” Moldenhauer said in a statement. “These were successful advisors and industry professionals I knew and respected who were still very focused on growing their businesses and building for the future. That made me want to understand what Merit was creating. The more I learned, the more I felt that it aligned with where we want to take our firm.”
Merit has been competitive in drawing Commonwealth advisors in a pool of recruiters that includes other large independent broker/dealers such as Cetera, Kestra Holdings and Osaic. In August, the RIA lured a former Commonwealth team in Southern California overseeing about $900 million in client assets. In September, Merit brought on financial advisor Tim Brennan and his team in Deerfield, Ill., overseeing about $888 million in assets, from Commonwealth.
LPL Financial, which acquired Commonwealth last year, is expected to transition all of the Commonwealth client assets to its platforms this November.
