A five-person team from RBC Wealth Management has broken away to join with Prairie Wealth, a registered investment advisor based in Omaha and Lincoln, Neb.
The McEwen Group, which will keep its name, joins Prairie Wealth with more than $400 million in assets under management and about $200 million in 401(k) plan assets. Combined, the two firms will oversee over $1 billion in client assets. The firm is run by Timothy McEwen, who held the role of senior vice president – branch director while at RBC.
Craig Hundt, CEO and founder of Prairie Wealth, said the merger is the result of years of consideration, including with multiple consultants, on how to build a succession plan while keeping the firm in place.
“It was about building a business that can outlive me, and to do that, you’ve got to have a deeper bench of people that can lead, that can be rainmakers,” Hundt said. “You’ve got to have people that can lead the wagon. … I knew if I could accomplish that, then the other two things could be accomplished: I could go off into the sunset, and my families and clients could be taken care of along with that next generation of employees.”
Hundt said at one point he had received a lucrative offer to be acquired by another firm, which he eventually declined despite some consultants advising him to take the deal. He also spoke to a few advisors about a merger, including his son, but eventually the best fit was with McEwen, whom Hundt had reached out to nearly a decade earlier with a proposal.
The deal was done through equity, according to Hundt, and McEwen will join the firm as president and partner. The wealth manager for clients ranging from mass affluent to ultra-high-net-worth will have a total team of 11.
“I did a deep dive into what a merger could look like, and how it would benefit our clients and our staff,” McEwen said. “To go set up your own independent RIA is a lot of work and a lot of time, and very difficult to do when you’re at a firm. The benefit of joining an existing firm that has a great reputation in the community and already has the compliance, oversight and technology was a real win-win.”
McEwen, who left about two weeks ago, said his clients have responded well to the move. He likes that he and his partner have ownership in the firm and can offer a wider menu of investment options to clients.
“A phrase that I’ve used often is I feel like we’re going from an Applebee’s menu to a Cheesecake Factory menu,” he said, noting the firm would, of course, have to take on the due diligence that a larger broker/dealer would otherwise do.
McEwen also said he liked the idea of helping small-business owner clients consider large capital raises for growth plans.
“We can’t do that in a broker/dealer space, but we have the ability to do that as an independent RIA, and that’s something that was another key component for our decision,” he said.
McEwen is shifting his clients to custody options at Prairie Wealth, including Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments. He said his team is mostly keeping the technology stack Hundt had set up at the firm, with some additions, such as Envestnet’s MoneyGuidePro (to complement eMoney Advisor) and Broadridge’s Fi360 for 401(k) management.
The McEwen Group also adds an “equity-focused perspective” to Prairie Wealth, along with experience in estate and succession planning and strategies such as cash balance plans and insurance. Prairie Wealth, for its part, had specialization in municipal bonds and alternative investments, according to the announcement.