Small-business retirement and wealth planning firm sets sights on expansion. Phoenix, Ariz.-based Wealthpoint, an advisory that specializes in retirement products and services for small businesses and their owners, has agreed to buy three local firms. The acquisitions are first steps in Phoenix' plan to become, it says, a significant regional player in the wealth-management space.

"By teaming up with three highly respected firms, Wealthpoint has an opportunity to incorporate our proprietary technology with the client-focused personal approach that has made these firms so successful," says Joe Worden, founder and principal of Wealthpoint. "The combined result will create a service offering that exceeds clients' expectations and is usually not available to companies with fewer than 1,000 employees."

More in store

The three firms Wealthpoint plans to acquire are Scott Tellier and Co., TPGR Daily and Sequoia Financial Advisors. The first one is an actuarial, consulting and third-party administrative firm and the second is a record-keeping and trading firm. Sequoia is a registered investment advisory (RIA) with about $112 million in assets under management, according to its latest ADV filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission .

Scott Tellier's Robert Tellier and Michael Fischer have accepted an equity position Wealthpoint. Further details on the transactions wasn't available.

Wealthpoint says it plans to buy more RIAs "throughout the western United States."

Tellier says Wealthpoint's approach to sales and marketing and its "intense focus on the client's need for personal and professional guidance" will make it possible for us to expand its reach from a local to a national level. "Our clients will benefit from being associated with a growing, national firm that is intent on serving the day-to-day needs of our clients and employees," he adds.

Wealthpoint plans to offer its services through salaried financial advisors, eliminating, it says, "concerns associated with commission-driven advice." -FWR

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