Creative Planning Scoops Up $5B RIA in Second-Biggest Deal to Date
The acquisition brings Creative Planning a "large pool of experienced talent" in a market where it has many clients, CEO Peter Mallouk says.
Creative Planning says it is buying Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney, aka SBSB Financial Advisors, an RIA with over $5 billion in assets under management and 60 staff members.
The deal is Creative’s second-largest to date in terms of assets and comes just a few months after it bought the $6 billion retirement division of Iron Financial of Northbrook, Illinois, which has 15 employees.
“SBSB is, by far, our most impactful acquisition to date, in terms of bringing on a large pool of experienced talent,” said Creative Planning CEO Peter Mallouk, in a statement. “With SBSB joining our team in the DC metropolitan area, which already works with over 1,000 clients in the area, we are on our way to emerging as the leader in the region.”
SBSB is focused on financial planning, investment management and tax preparation services for high-net-worth and ultra-high net worth clients. It is based in McClean, Virginia.
“We searched for a partner with great leadership that shared our fiduciary mindset and our comprehensive, financial planning-led approach to wealth management,” according to Greg Sullivan, co-founder of SBSB. “Creative Planning checks all those boxes and will help us greatly expand our client services with in-house access to estate planning, insurance planning and corporate trustee services.”
Creative Planning currently manages over $76 billion in total assets.
See: RIA Creative Planning Strikes Its First 2021 Deal, Opens Nonprofit