Kicking off August, the corporate roundup highlights new acquisitions from Mercer Advisors, Cetera Financial Group, and Steward Partners, while Ascensus bolsters its NQDC sales team within the Ascensus Institutional Solutions line of business.
Mercer Advisors acquires wealth management firm
Mercer Advisors is acquiring Steward Wealth Management, LLC, a wealth management firm located in Colleyville, Texas that provides guidance on financial planning, investments, tax, and estate planning.
Steward was founded by Dustin Stiefel and Vince Hawkins in 2007 and serves approximately 340 clients with assets under management (AUM) of approximately $680 million. As a result of the deal, the Steward team will join Mercer’s office in Texas, according to a release issued by Mercer Advisors.
Speaking on the acquisitions, co-founder Vince Hawkins said: “As my partners and I planned for the future, we realized we needed to add scale as well as adding more services for our clients. We were introduced to David Barton, vice chairman, who heads up M&A for Mercer Advisors. After meeting with David Barton, we found a wonderful cultural fit between our two organizations and loved the fact that they offer in-house estate planning, tax planning and return preparation, among other services.”
Barton, who led the acquisition of Steward on behalf of Mercer Advisors, added: “Dustin and Vince have built a high-quality business staffed by an exceptional team of professionals. In our industry, you are only as good as your people, and their people, like our people, are top-notch. The winners in our opinion, are the clients. Steward is a respected and fast-growing firm, and they significantly bolster our Texas presence.”
Cetera Financial Group brings in Powell Financial Partners
Cetera has recently acquired Powell Financial Partners, a Georgetown, Texas-based independent wealth management firm.
Powell Financial Partners is led by father-daughter team Mickey Powell and Jennifer Powell, who are affiliated with Cetera Wealth Partners, a community that is part of Cetera Advisor Networks.
“For the last several years, we have been positioning our business to consistently and securely meet the needs of our clients first and foremost,” said Mickey Powell, the founding investment advisor representative for Powell Financial. “We have many financial plans in place that we actively monitor and manage, alongside our clients, to help provide the financial security clients need in their retirement years. Cetera provides us the ability to focus more time on what matters most – doing the best job planning and serving our clients.”
“At Powell Financial, we pride ourselves on our collaborative and family-first approach, which we see reflected at Cetera as well,” said Jennifer Powell, investment advisor representative and partner at Powell Financial Partners. “With support from Cetera, we are positioned well to continue to strategically grow our business and help clients realize their financial goals.”
“Mickey and Jennifer are a shining example of a dedicated and collaborative team that places client interests above all else,” said Tom Halloran, president of Cetera Wealth Partners. “This partnership represents a closer collaboration that we believe will drive positive results for the Powell team and their clients as part of the Cetera Wealth Partners family. We are honored to partner with the talented Powell Financial team as key leaders at Cetera Wealth Partners, where they are poised for a prosperous future.”
Mickey and Jennifer Powell have been affiliated with Cetera Wealth Partners since 2021. Cetera Wealth Partners was created in the same year through the acquisition of assets related to Voya Financial Advisors’ independent financial planning channel.
Steward Partners welcomes Oswego Crest Financial Group
Steward Partners Global Advisory, LLC, an employee-owned, full-service independent partnership, is working with Oswego Crest Financial Group as an affiliate.
The four-person team is made up of partners and wealth managers Patricia Sturr, Peter Miller, Tom Daniels, as well as partner and client administrative manager Peggy Maxwell. Collectively the team manages approximately $230 million in client assets.
“The team at Oswego Crest Financial Group has built an outstanding practice and is well positioned for exciting growth going forward,” said Eric Field, partner and western divisional president of Steward Partners. “By joining Steward Partners and choosing Raymond James as their custodian, they will have access to more resources, open architecture, and an extensive support network to help them better serve their clients and grow to their full potential.”
Oswego Crest specializes in helping clients prepare for and navigate through the opportunities and challenges presented by retirement.
“We have always seen our firm as being in partnership with our clients who truly value and see the benefit in our collaborative approach. Teamwork is key to our success and that’s what really attracted us to Steward Partners,” said Sturr. “With access to the deep pool of resources that Steward Partners offers, we believe this will allow us to do an even better job of serving our clients going forward.”
Ascensus grows NQDC sales division
Ascensus is expanding its sales team offering nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans and insurance distribution under the Ascensus Institutional Solutions line of business.
Institutional Solutions is focused on expanding services to advisors, plan sponsors and financial institutions in the fields of insurance funding and administration, nonqualified plan recordkeeping, fiduciary services and compensation consulting.
Clay Kennedy, vice president of Insurance and Nonqualified Retirement Plan Sales, is responsible for directing the activities of the NQDC and insurance sales team. Jody Passen, Troy Testa, and David Tippets have joined the team as insurance and nonqualified sales consultants helping advisors identify market opportunities and offer their clients effective, efficient, and contemporary NQDC plan solutions.
“Clay and the team have more than 100 total years of sales experience in the financial services industry—all focused on helping advisors add value to their clients and expand their practice,” said Kurt Laning, president of Institutional Solutions. “With the addition of Jody, Troy, and David, we’re giving our advisor community and their clients access to extensive knowledge in nonqualified plan strategy, design, consultation, implementation, enrollment, and financing,” continued Laning.
“Relationships with our advisor partners are key to the success of Institutional Solutions and the team brings an abundance of advisor relationships who will benefit by expanding their practice to include NQDC and institutional life insurance offerings,” added Kennedy.
SEE ALSO:
- Corporate Roundup: ShareBuilder Offers 401k Safe Harbor, TIAA RetirePlus Passes Milestone
- Corporate Roundup: Mercer Appoints Global COO, Securian Financial Hires
- Corporate Roundup: Ascensus Brings In President, Principal and Alera Group Hires
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.
