Mercer has been one of the largest acquirers of wealth management firms in the North American market.

Denver-headquartered Mercer Global Advisors, a national Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), has acquired Paragon Wealth Strategies, continuing a run of M&A transactions this year. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Paragon is a wealth management firm located in Jacksonville, Florida. The firm was founded by Jonathan Castle and Michelle Ash, managing partners, in 2008. Scott Snider, and Ian Aquilar, later joined and became shareholders in Paragon rounding out a qualified management team and bench of professionals serving more than 400 clients, with assets under management of $495 million. Paragon said it services its clients as a team rather than as individual advisors.

Mercer has been acquiring a mass of US wealth businesses, most recently buying wealth management firms Singh Advisory, located in Denver, Colorado, as well as Private Asset Management (PAM) in San Diego to strengthen its California presence. See more here and here. The run of deals is part of a wider North American wealth management consolidation story, driven by a desire for scale to handle rising client demands and regulatory costs, while some sellers are looking for retirement exits, to realize past investments, or to achieve more scale by working with a larger partner.

“We were looking to join a national firm that added not only scale and additional support for our team, but also added new services that we could share with our clients. In this regard, Mercer Advisors was a perfect fit for us,” Michelle Ash said.

“Jon, Michelle, Scott and Ian have built a high-quality comprehensive wealth management firm standing out as market leaders in North Florida. Their significant footprint and prestige bolster our already strong Florida presence,” David Barton, vice chairman, who led the acquisition of Paragon on behalf of Mercer Advisors said. 

Paragon was advised and represented by Park Sutton Advisors, a Waller Helms Company, as financial advisor and investment banker. Riezman Berger, PC, represented Paragon as their legal counsel in this transaction.

Established in 1985, Mercer Global Advisors is a wealth management and financial planning firm that provides fee-based investment management, financial planning, family office services, retirement benefits and distribution planning, estate and tax planning, insurance solutions, and corporate trustee and trust administration services. It is a parent company of Mercer Global Advisors (RIA), and Regis Acquisitions (RIA).

Both are majority owned by Oak Hill Capital and Genstar Capital. Mercer Global Advisors is privately held, and operates nationally through 80 locations across the country, managing over $50 billion in client assets.