Fueled by capital from parent Lightyear Capital, Wealth Enhancement Group is expanding its national footprint to Texas.
Wealth Enhancement Group has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Sound Financial Solutions, a Houston-based wealth management firm with approximately $260 million in brokerage and advisory assets and three advisers.
"We anticipate rapid growth within the Texas market, which has been an area of targeted expansion for our firm for some time now,” Jeff Dekko, CEO of Wealth Enhancement Group, said in a statement.
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Under the terms of the agreement, all of Sound Financial Solutions’ existing employees will become part of Wealth Enhacement Group, with senior professionals Larry Smith, Lance Moreland and Geoffrey Lanceley serving as leaders of Wealth Enhancement Group's newly established Houston branch teams.
Wealth Enhancement Group and its RIA, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, currently have nearly $4.5 billion in client brokerage and advisory assets and 39 advisers.
"EXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITIES"
Joining Wealth Enhancement Group provides Sound Financial with "extraordinary opportunities" to expand its offerings to clients and grow its business "from investment management and financial planning advice to back-office and marketing efficiencies," said Lance Moreland, the firm's general partner and co-founder in a statement.
The transaction closely follows Wealth Enhancement Group’s announced acquisition of HHG & Company, a $1 billion dollar-plus RIA based in Darien, Conn. That deal is scheduled to close in the third quarter of 2016.
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The addition of offices in the New York metro area and Houston is part of an ongoing wealth management push by private equity powerhouse Lightyear Capital, which bought Wealth Enhancement Group last year.
Teaming with PSP, the Canadian pension investment manager, Lightyear is also buying major IDB player, AIG Advisor Group.
Establishing a beachhead in Texas "marks another important step toward our ongoing goal of building a leading national wealth management and financial planning brand," Dekko said. "We look forward to establishing more high-quality partnerships in the near future.”
Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close by June, were not disclosed.
