Merit Financial Advisors is hiring a new leader for M&A deals, the firm announced today.
David Wahlen will join the firm as vice president of strategic partners from Captrust, where he was most recently the director of strategic growth. In his new role, Wahlen will be the main point of contact between the $12 billion Merit and the firms it’s looking to buy.
Among other tasks, Wahlen will find potential new deals, build relationships with investment bankers and work with Merit CEO Rick Kent and President Kay Lynn Mayhue to smooth the onboarding process for firms. According to Kent, Wahlen’s “deep industry knowledge and collaborative approach” would be essential as the firm expands its M&A dealings.
According to Merit, Wahlen played a central role in over 50 M&A deals at Captrust and helped the firm grow from $5 billion to $80 billion in assets under management during his six-year tenure.
Since its formation in 1998, Merit has bought more than 40 firms, adding about $10 billion in client assets. The pace of acquisitions jumped significantly starting at the end of 2020 when private equity firm Wealth Partners Capital Group took a minority stake in the firm (partnering with several strategic investors led by HGGC’s Aspire Holdings platform).
Since that deal, the Atlanta-based Merit has added about 30 firms with more than 40 offices nationwide. Earlier this month, Merit expanded its presence in Pennslyvania by acquiring Zimmerman Investment Management & Planning, a $739 million New Cumberland-based firm. In doing so, Merit gained a fourth office in the state.
Additionally, last month, Merit acquired Roth Asset Management, a $773 million firm based in Lake Oswego, Ore., which boosted its presence in the Pacific Northwest, and Trinity Financial Partners, a female-owned firm based in Berwyn, Pa., which manages about $603 million in client assets.
In late July, Merit Financial disaffiliated from LPL and later moved its business to Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments.
The move came after an LPL July earnings call in which then-LPL CEO Dan Arnold said several office of supervisory jurisdiction firms were “strategically misaligned” with the firm’s mission and model (WealthManagement.com reported that Wealth Enhancement Group was the other firm).
Earlier this year, Brian Andrew joined Merit as its chief investment officer from his previous role at Johnson Investment Group. Samantha Allen, a former senior vice president of integrated marketing at the Carson Group, announced last month she was joining Merit as executive vice president of marketing.
In the past year, Brian Greene also joined from The Carson Group as managing operating principal and Executive vice president. Doug Baxley and John Cote joined as chief compliance officer and chief growth officer, respectively. Baxley was previously with Silver Oak Securities and Cambridge Investment Research, while Cote was formerly with Wealth Enhancement Group.
