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March 15, 2018 at 12:30 AM
Merit Financial Group, an independent RIA firm and a super office of supervisory jurisdiction affiliated with LPL Financial has merged its operations with those of Botsford Financial Group and Financial Development Systems.
The combination puts the total number of Merit professionals at 60, and the group’s assets under management are $2.6 billion.
Botsford Financial specializes in retirement and asset preservation planning for high net worth clients, while Financial Development provides holistic wealth management services that include estate planning and tax strategy.
“The strategic combination of Merit with Botsford Financial Group and Financial Development Systems is a major milestone that sets us up for considerable future success in serving retail investors, advisors, plan sponsors and benefits consultants in the qualified retirement plan space,” said Rick Kent, president and founder of Merit, in a statement.
“By joining forces now, the advisors and clients of each of our firms will benefit with access to enhanced strategies, experience and capabilities that weren’t immediately available to our businesses on a stand-alone basis,” Kent explained.
Botsford Financial will be led by its President, Kay Lynn Mayhue. Erin Botsford, Botsford’s founder will serve as a strategic business development officer.
FDS will operate as a partner under the Merit brand and platform; Merit has served FDS as its OSJ since 2014.
Jody Owenby, previously president of FDS, will serve as a senior partner at Merit. Greg Gerhard, previously COO and CFO, will act as partner and chief internal strategy officer of the combined firm.
“We thank LPL Financial and our transaction advisor, FP Transitions, for their significant assistance in helping us facilitate this strategic combination,” Kent added.
