Mercer Advisors Acquires Kays Financial Advisory Corporation
Acquisition of Kays Financial Advisory Corporation (Registered Investment Adviser), Expands Mercer Advisors' Presence in Georgia and Southeast
DENVER, Jan. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercer Global Advisors, Inc. ("Mercer Advisors"), a national Registered Investment Adviser (RIA), today announced the acquisition of Kays Financial Advisory Corporation ("Kays"), a respected wealth management firm located in Atlanta, Georgia. Kays serves approximately 700 clients with over $800 million of assets under management. Scott Kays, CFA, CFP® ("Scott") founded Kays Financial Advisory Corporation in 1985 delivering comprehensive wealth management services to its high net worth (HNW) clientele. Scott and his staff of sixteen, including five co-shareholders, will be joining the Mercer Advisors' team. The transaction closed on November 30, 2020.
Scott not only founded Kays but has served as its Managing Principal for years focusing on building a world-class RIA delivering holistic, multi-disciplinary, wealth management services. Scott earned his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification in 1986 and his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2008. He has also appeared frequently on CNBC, Fox Business Network, and Wall Street Journal Radio. Scott has written numerous articles and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal. He has authored two books, Achieving Your Financial Potential (Doubleday, 1999) and Five Key Lessons from Top Money Managers (John Wiley and Sons, 2005).
Commenting on the transaction, Scott stated: "We are committed to serving our clients with excellence. Part of that duty includes making sure their needs, and families' needs, are taken care of for decades to come, and beyond my business lifetime. As a result, it became clear we needed to partner with an established national firm that could ensure continued high-quality customer service in perpetuity and present our staff with career development opportunities. In that regard, I have known Dave Welling, CEO of Mercer Advisors, for years, and hold him in high regard. In discussing a possible business combination, Dave referred me to David Barton, Mercer Advisors' Vice Chairman who leads mergers and acquisitions. While we talked to a number of firms, Mercer Advisors was the most additive in terms of expanded services we would be able to offer our clients. After months of negotiations and planning with Dave Barton and other Mercer Advisors' staff, and notwithstanding COVID, here we are! We couldn't be more excited about partnering with Mercer Advisors and look forward to a bright future together."
David Barton who led this transaction on behalf of Mercer Advisors added: "What struck me about Scott and Kays Financial, was the quality of their team. In a team of seventeen, they have seven CFP® professionals, four CFA® charterholders, four Masters degrees, two CPAs, and one doctorate. Scott and his superior team pride themselves on delivering expanded services to their clientele and operate as a comprehensive wealth manager. In this regard they are a perfect fit for Mercer Advisors because we are a family office complete with in-house estate planning attorneys, tax return preparation, and corporate trustee services. While COVID and general socioeconomic uncertainty made this deal, or any deal, difficult to complete, Scott and his partners were stand-up through it all, high integrity people and a pleasure to work with."
Dave Welling, Chief Executive Officer of Mercer Advisors said, "I am honored and humbled that Scott and his exemplary team selected Mercer Advisors as their partner. We look at this as the formation of a strategic relationship that will enable us to serve clients for years to come. When Scott approached me about the possibility of joining Mercer Advisors, of course I was delighted. Scott and his partners have built a fantastic and growing RIA, rare in these times when many RIAs are struggling with organic growth. The combination of our two firms presents a formidable juggernaut in Georgia and the Southeast. We are excited to join forces with the Kays team and look forward to serving their clients with expanded wealth management services for years to come."
About Mercer Advisors
Established in 1985, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ("Mercer Advisors") is a full-service wealth management firm that specializes in providing investment advice, financial and estate planning, and taxes, and corporate trustee and trust administration services. It is one of the largest Registered Investment Advisers and financial planning firms in the U.S. with over $24 billion in client assets. Headquartered in Denver, Mercer Advisors is privately held, has over 440 employees, and operates nationally across the country with 45+ locations. Mercer Advisors, Inc. is a parent company of Mercer Global Advisors Inc. (RIA), majority owned by both Oak Hill Capital and Genstar Capital. Mercer Global Advisors has a related insurance agency. Mercer Advisors Insurance Services, LLC (MAIS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mercer Advisors Inc. Employees of Mercer Global Advisors serve as officers of MAIS. For Mercer Global Advisors clients who wish to purchase insurance products, MAIS has entered into a non-exclusive referral agreement with Strategic Partner(s). More information about MAIS and our Strategic Partners may be found in our Form ADV 2A. Visit us at www.merceradvisors.com.
Data as of December 31, 2020. AUM includes affiliates and wholly owned subsidiaries announced to date.
Contact: Chris Tofalli
Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC
914-834-4334
SOURCE Mercer Global Advisors Inc.
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