Trinity Financial Partners, a Pennsylvania-based woman-owned firm with $603 million in assets under management, is merging with $12 billion Merit Financial Advisors.
Trinity President Robyn E. Jameson will become a managing director, partner and asset manager at Merit as a result of the deal and will bring her client support and operations team with her.
Trinity is based in Berwyn, Pa., and emphasizes financial planning, including investment management and retirement and estate planning. The firm has also formed a “long-term strategic partnership” with financial services company and TAMP provider SEI for asset management, technology and operations needs.
“Finding the right partner is challenging, but I am deeply grateful to have found Merit, a firm that shares our values and commitment to client service,” said Jameson.
Private equity firm Wealth Partners Capital Group took a minority stake in Merit in December 2020, along with several strategic investors led by HGGC's Aspire Holdings platform. The Trinity deal marks Merit's 29th since it took over WPCG's minority investment.
The Trinity office will be Meri's third in the Keystone State. Merit is an Atlanta-based hybrid RIA with over 40 offices nationwide. As of the end of June, it had about $11.84 billion in assets (including $8.8 billion in advisory assets and $2.8 billion in brokerage assets).
in March, Merit won Viren and Associatesa $542 million Spokane, Wash.-based firm. which provides financial and wealth planning to approximately 750 clients. The firm was previously affiliated with the Mariner Independent Advisor Network. In August, Merit acquired Kizer & Associates for $180 million to establish its first office in Illinois.
Furthermore, Brian Andrew joined Mer earlier this year as its chief investment officer from his previous role at Johnson Financial Group. On Monday, Samantha Allen, former senior vice president of integrated marketing at Carson Group, announced on LinkedIn she was joining Meri as executive vice president of marketing.
In late July, Merit Financial spun off from LPL and later moved its business to Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments. The move followed an LPL earnings call in July in which then-LPL CEO Dan Arnold said some of the firms' supervisory jurisdiction offices were “strategically misaligned” with the firm's mission and model.
WealthManagement.com reported last week that Wealth Growth Group was another of these CSOs. The $96 billion firm had about $4 billion in assets with LPL and had acted as LPL's super OSJ for 17 years. This firm's change will take effect next June, and it has not yet named its next broker/dealer.