Merit Partners with Sanctuary Wealth Management
Merit Financial Advisors, a Georgia-based financial advisory firm that specializes in financial planning and wealth management solutions for high-net-worth individuals and families and those navigating life transitions, has acquired Sanctuary Wealth Management, LLC and Fiduciary Services, LLC.
This acquisition enables Merit to establish a presence in Idaho and grow its assets collectively by $1.6 billion.
Sanctuary, in working with private clients, specializes in investment advisory and portfolio management. In addition to these services, the firm supports corporate clients with a range of retirement and investment solutions, including 401(k) plans. FS, which is a subsidiary of Sanctuary, specializes in employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) where they serve as transactional and ongoing ESOP trustees for clients.
Sanctuary’s partnership with Merit will enable the team to “enhance its back-office and administrative support and leverage Merit’s robust technology offerings for its clients,” according to a release on the partnership. Merit will also be able to expand its offering for corporate clients with the addition of ESOPs. All three owners of the firm, Brett Robison, Gene Clay Esplin, and Joel Phillips, will be taking on the role of wealth manager at Merit and will be joined by the rest of their team.
“We are incredibly optimistic about the future and the enhanced services we will be able to provide as a result of this merger,” said Brett. “Our collaboration with Merit opens up a world of possibilities, and we can’t wait to explore them with our clients.”
This is Merit’s thirty-fourth acquisition since taking a minority investment in December 2020 from Wealth Partners Capital Group (WPCG) and a group of strategic investors led by HGGC’s Aspire Holdings platform. This is also Merit’s second largest acquisition to date. Last month, Merit acquired Hershey Wealth Advisors, LLC, which expanded Merit’s assets by $233 million and added its fifth office in Pennsylvania.
The merger was finalized on March 14, 2025. Alaris Acquisitions, an M&A advisory firm specializing exclusively in the wealth management industry, acted as the advisor for this transaction. Financial and legal terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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Amanda Umpierrez is the Managing Editor of 401(k) Specialist magazine. She is a financial services reporter with over six years of experience and a passion for telling stories and reporting news. Amanda received her degree in journalism and government and politics at St. John’s University. She is originally from Queens, New York, but now resides in Denver, Colorado with her partner. In her free time, Amanda enjoys running, cooking, and watching the latest drama show.
