The RIA continues to build acquisitions across the country.

Mercer Advisors, a RIA which is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, has acquired Blue Moon Wealth Advisory, also a RIA, with more than $90 million of assets under management. 

Blue Moon was founded by Michael J. Greiner, CFP, in 2014 and is located in Bellevue, Washington near Mercer’s current Bellevue office.  Mercer will consolidate offices as part of its efforts to expand its Pacific Northwest presence, Mercer said in a statement emailed to this publication.

The acquisition is Mercer’s eighth deal in 17 months, taking AuM to $11 billion, with a total of 1,700 clients. In July, for example, the firm acquired Wealth Design Services, (WDS) a Rochester, NY-based RIA with approximately $160 million of assets under management and also includes a tax practice.

The acquisition is part of a trend of M&A in the RIA space because of firms’ desire to build economies of scale in a more heavily regulate environment, as well in some cases as owners seek to cash out of their businesses.