BOK Financial Corporation is continuing its shopping spree by entering into an agreement to acquire MBM Advisors - the Houston, TX-based independent retirement and pension plan investment firm, and SEC-registered investment advisor.

Tulsa, OK-based BOK Financial Corporation is continuing its shopping spree by entering into an agreement to acquire MBM Advisors - the Houston, TX-based independent retirement and pension plan investment firm, and SEC-registered investment advisor.

The move represents BOK’s third wealth management acquisition in 18 months, having also bought the Denver, CO-based registered investment advisor, The Milestone Group, in late 2012. It also recently completed its acquisition of Kansas-based trust and asset management company, GTRUST Financial Corporation. Its latest acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014. 

This purchase will increase the New York-listed firm's retirement and individual assets under management by $1.25 billion while expanding its wealth management capabilities and its presence in Houston. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

MBM Advisors has clients in 15 states, including those in which BOK Financial already has a full-service banking presence. The firm was founded in 1966 and manages all aspects of clients’ employee retirement and pension plans. This includes: providing investment advisory services as an ERISA 3(38) Fiduciary; plan design; plan compliance; record-keeping and actuarial services.

BOK Financial said it has been in the retirement plan business over 58 years; it serves 430 retirement plans with $5.6 billion in assets and 70,000 plan participants. MBM Advisors adds 222 plans, $1.1 billion in plan assets and 16,000 plan participants, it said.

“This transaction fits with our strategy to acquire companies that have built a differentiated business model and a strong base of clients within our footprint,” said Scott Grauer, executive vice president for wealth management at BOK Financial. 

Grauer added that now is a prime time for his firm to expand retirement planning services, given the volume of aging Baby Boomers in the country who are retiring or planning for retirement. He also cited “continued pressures on businesses to provide retirement benefits within a constantly changing regulatory environment.”

Clients of MBM Advisors will continue to work with their current team, while the firm’s staff will work with BOK Financial’s local market subsidiary, Bank of Texas, to maximize client, technology and employee resources. MBM Advisors will also maintain their investment relationship with Charles Schwab following the acquisition.

BOK Financial has full-service banking operations in Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth through its market bank subsidiary, Bank of Texas, as well as stand-alone wealth management and mortgage offices in Austin, El Paso and San Antonio.