This blog recaps recaps a recent article in PlanAdviser by Alex Ortolani | July 24, 2024.

MyVest CEO, Anton Honikman, spoke with Alex Ortolani at PlanAdviser about the impacts of mergers and acquisitions in the wealth and retirement plan advisory space. Many of the acquiring firms, especially ones that have made multiple acquisitions in a short amount of time, are reaching a point where they have to balance making these deals work long term and retaining the acquired advisor base.


Below are a few highlight from Anton’s conversation:

“Acquiring firms, particularly the ones at the top of the market, are heading toward a tipping point of making these acquisitions work for the long term or seeing an adviser exodus that would undercut the value of the acquisitions in the first place.”

Anton said that the draw for smaller independent RIAs to join larger organizations is only poised to increase. “What you find at a larger organization is a division of labor. Instead of having decentralized portfolio managers, you have centralized investment teams to select models and build asset allocations.”

This centralization, if done right, can offer a significant upside for acquired advisors to “bridge across retirement and retail assets outside of the plan. Most households that these advisers are serving are going to have accounts in both; having an enterprise-sized RIA firm that can serve both sides of the ledger is incredibly compelling.”

Anton’s commentary is accompanied by comments from Wealth Enhancement Group’s Brian Gregov, director of retirement planning consulting, and Dan Stampf, chief product officer, where they cover the growth and holistic benefits of supplementing their wealth advice service with their acquisition of a retirement plan advisory business.

Read the full article on PlanAdvisor.