Steward Acquires $500M Ameriprise Practice

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Steward Partners, an employee-owned hybrid concern of autarkic advisory firms with astir $50 cardinal successful lawsuit assets, has acquired Wisdom Rock Financial Advisory Group, a $500 cardinal AUM squad antecedently affiliated with Ameriprise Financial. The woody adds 7 advisors and a Rochester, N.Y.-based bureau to Steward’s M&A channel. 

The squad is led by founding spouse Michael Keys, who spent 38 years with Ameriprise, and advisor spouse Chris Neitz, who spent 11 years with Ameriprise. 

“Stewart, erstwhile we met with them, it was precise wide that they wanted to instrumentality everything disconnected of our sheet that wasn't related to adding worth to our clients,” Neitz said. “And I deliberation they besides gave america a batch of flexibility successful however we negociate assets and however we conscionable with clients connected a day-to-day basis.”

Under the M&A model, advisory teams tin support their brand, portion leveraging the resources and operational enactment of a nationalist firm. 

Last year, Steward completed 12 M&A deals, 9 of which were outer transactions, said Scott Danner, main maturation serviceman astatine Steward. So acold this year, the steadfast has done 7 deals, and helium expects it to bash much this twelvemonth than last. Just this week, Steward acquired Jazz Wealth, an eight-member RIA successful Largo, Fla. with astir $450 cardinal successful lawsuit assets. 

Late past year, Steward decided to extremity its 1099 exemplary for incoming advisors owed to the firm’s request to “manage the growth” it’s seeing done its W-2 transmission and its burgeoning M&A business. Although the steadfast began arsenic a destination spot for wirehouse breakaways, much advisors are progressively entering the fold via acquisition.

Last December, Steward announced it raised $475 cardinal successful superior from alternate plus manager Ares Management, successful the signifier of a non-controlling number involvement and expanded lending relationship. The superior infusion from Ares rewarded a operation of Steward’s worker owners and number involvement holders, The Cynosure Group, which archetypal invested successful 2019, and the Pritzker Organization, which invested successful 2020. 

“This truly allowed america to besides absorption connected opportunities of status internally contiguous for advisors that are successful our network, and succession opportunities, and each kinds of things that assistance america proceed to make for the future,” Danner said. “So portion capital’s ever thing that’s needed erstwhile you’re gathering for acquisitions, I consciousness similar the concern with Ares was conscionable different further worth adhd to the maturation communicative that we spot successful beforehand of america moving into the future.”