Private Equity-Backed Firm to Acquire Insurance Distribution Pillar

What You Need to Know

Ash Brokerage was founded in 1971 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
It now has relationships with 50,000 insurance agents.
Those agents generated sales that produced $2 billion in premiums in 2021 and put $25 billion in benefits in place.

Integrity Marketing announced Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Ash Brokerage — a major life, annuity, disability and long-term care insurance distributor.

Tim Ash, the firm’s CEO, is on track to become a managing partner with Integrity Marketing.

Ash said in a comment, included in the deal announcement, that he believes the combination will help financial advisors and the families they serve by giving the advisors and their clients access to a more diversified mix of products and supporting holistic planning.

“We’ve chosen to unite so we could have a greater impact on the lives of the people and communities we serve,” Ash said.

What It Means

For financial professionals who want to sell their firms, the deal means that Integrity Marketing appears to have the budget to continue to support an active approach to mergers and acquisitions.

The Ash Brokerage deal is the 11th that Integrity Marketing has announced since mid-March.

For clients, the rise of Integrity Marketing and other investment company-backed financial services distributors may mean that financial advice may soon have a more national, more standardized look.

Integrity Marketing

Integrity Marketing is a private equity-backed, Dallas-based company that has relationships with 420,000 agents and advisors.

In 2021, those financial professionals had 10 million client relationships and $20 billion of client assets under management and advisement.

The clients’ purchases generated $10 billion in revenue.

Ash Brokerage

Jim Ash, Tim Ash’s father, founded Ash Brokerage in 1971 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The Deal

Integrity Marketing has completed many of the deals it has announced before announcing the deal agreements.

In this case, Integrity Marketing said, the deal is subject to regulatory approval.

The companies are not saying what the financial terms will be.

Jim Ash, the founder, made his son the Ash CEO in 1997.

Integrity Marketing has not said what, if any, role Jim Ash might have, but Jim said in a comment, included in the deal announcement, that he believes the partnership between the two companies will be special.

The Ash family has been active in the community in Fort Wayne. In April 2020, for example, they made headlines by selling a collection of high-performance cars to raise money for local COVID-19 response efforts.