Merit Financial Advisors Acquires Two Wealth Firms with $569M in Combined Assets 

RIA Merit Financial Advisors has acquired two specialized firms with combined assets of $569 million, expanding its reach in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest regions.   

AMP Wealth Management, an investment management, with $365 million in assets under management, marks the Atlanta-based firm’s seventh office in Wisconsin. AMP Wealth Management offers investment management and a dividend stock strategy to businesses, high-net-worth individuals, and dental professionals. 

The firm’s founder, Jerome Mahalick, will be joining Merit Financial as a wealth manager along with wealth manager Greg Mahalick, portfolio strategist Jamie Breen, and branch operations manager Stacey Horn. 

“Joining forces with Merit allows us to align with a larger firm that shares our values while gaining access to the resources and support we need to better serve our clients,” Mahalick said. “We’re also eager to bring our investment strategies to a broader platform.” 

In addition to AMP Wealth, Merit acquired Bothell, WA-based Olympic Wealth, an independent registered investment advisor firm with $204 million in client assets.  

The firm offers retirement planning and investment management for Boeing employees and retirees in Washington’s Seattle-Tacoma area. Olympic Wealth’s founder, Eric Cumley, will join Merit Financial as a wealth manager along with senior client service manager Sarah Lominick. 

The transaction closed on June 24. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The acquisition marks Merit’s thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth acquisitions, respectively, since taking a minority investment in 2020 from Wealth Partners Capital Group and a group of strategic investors led by HGGC’s Aspire Holdings platform. 

In February, Merit acquired Pennsylvania-based Hershey Wealth Advisors, LLC, with $233 million in client assets, marking Merit’s fifth office in the Keystone state.