Mesirow, an independent, employee-owned financial services firm, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire LeafHouse Financial Advisors, a division of LeafHouse Financial Group, including the FlexFiduciary and InvestBuild business lines of the Austin, Texas-based technology company that creates investment solutions for the retirement plan industry.
In conjunction with the transaction, Chicago-based Mesirow will also make a strategic investment in LeafHouse Financial Services to support its ongoing technology development. Following the transaction close, LeafHouse’s advisory business will operate as part of Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions, which has powered many of the largest fiduciary programs in the marketplace for nearly 20 years.
The acquisition expands Mesirow’s fiduciary solutions capabilities by complementing its established recordkeeper integrated model with LeafHouse’s strong distribution and customizable approach to retirement plan services. Together, the combined platform will offer a differentiated hybrid model designed to serve advisors, plan sponsors and institutional partners with greater scale, flexibility and technology-enabled insight.
“LeafHouse significantly enhances our fiduciary solutions platform by expanding our distribution reach while reinforcing our long-standing commitment to fiduciary excellence,” said Ketan Shah, Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel at Mesirow. “This transaction reflects our strategy of investing in businesses that align culturally, strengthen our capabilities and position Mesirow for long-term, sustainable growth in attractive markets.”
“By combining LeafHouse’s advisor-centric approach with Mesirow’s institutional scale and technology infrastructure, we’re creating a stronger, more versatile platform for the retirement marketplace at meaningful and growing scale.”
Michael Annin, Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions
A pioneer in outsourced fiduciary services, Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions is a provider of outsourced ERISA fiduciary, investment due diligence, reporting and custom default solutions to the retirement plan, HSA and IRA marketplaces. The team’s technology infrastructure merges proprietary investment due diligence, plan-level reporting and fiduciary compliance engines into dynamic, scalable data connections directly to many of the nation’s largest recordkeepers.
Today, Mesirow’s outsourced fiduciary solutions service nearly 10,000 financial advisors and oversees $115.2 billion in assets under management and advisement as of March 31, 2026, a figure expected to grow to approximately $138 billion following the close of the LeafHouse transaction.
“By combining LeafHouse’s advisor-centric approach with Mesirow’s institutional scale and technology infrastructure, we’re creating a stronger, more versatile platform for the retirement marketplace at meaningful and growing scale,” said Michael Annin, CFA, President, Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions. “Advisors and plan sponsors will benefit from enhanced service flexibility, improved data integration over time, and the resources of a firm that has been committed to fiduciary responsibility for decades.”
Deal allows LeafHouse to focus on strength
Following the transaction, LeafHouse Financial Services will continue to focus on developing and expanding its technology solutions for financial advisors, recordkeepers, trust companies, asset managers and institutional partners.
“This next chapter enables each organization to focus on what it does best.”
LeafHouse’s Todd Kading
“This next chapter enables each organization to focus on what it does best,” said Todd Kading, President and CEO of LeafHouse. “Mesirow is built to scale fiduciary solutions. LeafHouse is built to create technology that helps advisors and institutions operate more effectively, communicate better, and make more informed decisions. This is where we are focused, and Mesirow’s strategic investment in LeafHouse Financial Services reflects their confidence in the technology we are building.”
Clients and advisors will experience continuity through the transition. The FlexFiduciary and InvestBuild service model will continue its day-to-day operations, investment strategy implementation, and client support. The business will remain open to new clients and advisors following the closing.
“LeafHouse has built a respected, advisor centric business with thoughtful solutions and strong client relationships,” Annin said. “We’re excited to welcome the advisory team into Mesirow and deliver even greater flexibility, scale, and long-term value for advisors and the clients they serve.”
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
Going forward, LeafHouse Financial Advisors will operate under Mesirow, while LeafHouse Financial Services will continue as an independent entity under the LeafHouse brand with additional resources to drive technology innovation and expansion.
SEE ALSO:
• LeafHouse, GTC Partner on Proprietary CIT Platform
• 401GO Grows Retirement Investment Offerings with Mesirow