Mercer International Advisors, one of many nation’s largest and most acquisitive registered funding advisors with $70 billion in property, has employed Ted Motheral as principal of M&A companion improvement. Motheral joins from Potomac Legislation Group, the place he was a company and M&A companion.
He’ll serve alongside Martine Lellis, who was promoted into the identical function in Might. That place was created out of a must deal with the agency’s rising pipeline of RIA acquisition targets. In October, Lellis additionally took over the duties from Dave Barton, vice chairman of M&A at Mercer, who retired to deal with an ongoing well being problem.
“After we have been restructuring the group extra broadly after Dave Barton’s exit—I name Dave Barton an ideal ‘one-man-band’—and our imaginative and prescient was to construct an orchestra,” Mercer CEO Dave Welling mentioned. “Ted’s going to be a giant a part of that in main the group and guiding the group.”
Motheral has greater than 20 years of expertise as an lawyer, having suggested over 100 advisory and wealth administration corporations on M&A transactions and development initiatives.
“Ted has constructed a fame as a talented M&A practitioner with a formidable monitor document of guiding wealth administration corporations by means of advanced transactions,” Welling mentioned in a press release. “Ted having offered counsel to so many sellers is actually priceless. They’re placing their life’s work in our fingers after they make this choice, and each one in every of these corporations has an impression on our tradition and an impression on our enterprise. We need to make certain we get it proper for all the parents concerned.”
The companion improvement group consists of over 10 workers, together with 5 vice presidents that work in numerous elements of the nation.
Mercer has been probably the most lively acquirers within the RIA house over the past a number of years. In 2024, the corporate accomplished 13 offers, Welling mentioned, and its quantity has averaged within the mid-teens yearly since 2021. The agency has completed almost 100 offers since 2016.
“We’re not considering simply getting a transaction completed,” Welling mentioned. “We’re considering forming partnerships. These individuals are going to be our roommates and colleagues after, so we need to get it proper.”
This represents Mercer’s fourth key rent previously yr. Final month, the agency added Alisa Maute, a former LPL government, as government managing director and head of consumer improvement, a newly created function. Maute leads the group devoted to figuring out potential shoppers, figuring out whether or not Mercer is an efficient match for these households and matching them to the appropriate advisor inside the agency.
Final February, the agency introduced on Gün Keresteci as chief monetary officer. He joined from McKinsey & Firm, the place he was international head of finance.
In September, the RIA employed Elizabeth Hioe, one other former McKinsey government, as its new chief individuals officer.
Early final yr, the agency added 5 new 5 executives to fill out its M&A companion improvement and integration groups. These executives have been all tasked with bolstering the agency’s inorganic development methods.
