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Captrust Financial Advisors, a Raleigh, N.C.-based registered investment advisor with $1.3 trillion in assets under advisement, has acquired two long-time affiliated RIAs in Melville, N.Y., with a combined seven professionals and $1.2 billion in client assets.
That includes Compass Advisors, an RIA founded in 2013 by partners Michael Cuneo and Lauren King. The firm serves the institutional market, with about $300 million in retirement plan advisory assets, and the wealth market.
Long Island Wealth Management is also part of the deal, an RIA founded in 2006 by Jeff Myers.
While the two RIAs have operated as independent entities, they have been partnering in various ways since 2018. For instance, Myers has served as Compass’s chief investment officer and has helped the RIA with financial planning for its high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients. Meanwhile, Compass supported Myers with 401(k) and retirement plans, as well as business owners.
The two will merge upon joining Captrust.
“We knew that the best way to really move forward in a very quickly changing world was to tap into a company who already had solved for many of these issues,” King said. “And in turn, we were able to focus on what Mike, Jeff and I do best, which is really servicing our clients and providing best-in-class service. And in order to do that, we felt we should partner with someone who can really help the three of us manage the practice from a back-office standpoint, but really also provide us many more resources for our clients and then growth opportunities for our employees.”
Myers said they evaluated about a dozen potential partner firms during due diligence, but Captrust stood out as a founder-led organization with robust resources for its clients. They were also attracted to the employee ownership throughout the organization. Some 68% of Captrust employees, about 1,300, are shareholders.
Mike Wunderli, managing director and head of mergers and acquisitions at Captrust, said the firms will complement Captrust’s existing location in Lake Success, N.Y., with 25 employees, including 14 advisors. Their business model also serves as a nice complement to what Captrust already does, particularly in their work with business owners, high-net-worth families, and retirement advisory.
“When we think about M&A at Captrust, it starts and ends with the people,” Wunderli said. “And we ask the same questions: Are they strong leaders? Are they culture carriers? Do they have followership from their team? Are they multipliers, and do they lift each other up? And then, especially, do they put their clients and colleagues first? Are they entrepreneurial, and do they love what they do? Mike, Lauren and Jeff personify every one of these traits.”