Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Mercer Advisors has acquired Duckworth Wealth Advisors, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based family office and Mercer’s sixth transaction in the last year. Duckworth has $160 million in client assets, bringing Mercer’s total assets under management to over $9.6 billion. The registered investment advisory has been on an acquisition tear, recently buying Novos Planning Associates, a New York-based RIA with $100 million in client assets. The latest acquisition “is representative of a rapidly consolidating industry and the attractiveness of our business model—a Mayo Clinic approach to financial care,” Mercer CEO David Barton said, in a statement. “At 23 offices nationwide, we are among the largest independent family office RIA’s in the United States.”
Recovering From Surprise Expenses
It takes more than a year for American families to recover from "extraordinary" expenses, according to a J.P. Morgan Chase Institute report, which compiled data from 250,000 Chase accounts. To be considered "extraordinary," the expense had to be more than 1 percent of a family's income and more than two standard deviations away from a similar monthly expense. Between 2013 and 2015, about 40 percent of families made an extraordinary payment of at least $1,500, typically related to medical services, auto repairs or taxes. On average, it took more than a year to recover from the payment. Meanwhile, savings decreased and credit card debt increased for those families during that time period. According to J.P. Morgan, the research shows there is a "need for policies and solutions to promote emergency savings."
Trump's Tax Overhaul Expected Within Weeks
Details of President Donald Trump's tax overhaul are expected to be released within weeks, a White House official told Bloomberg on Friday. Former Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn is reportedly spearheading the creation of the plan, which is expected to include changes to both corporate and individual income taxes. During his campaign, Trump said he wanted the existing seven individual income-tax rates reduced to three. Specific changes on the horizon for corporate income tax rates are less clear.
