Merit Financial Advisors has acquired Hershey Wealth Advisors, LLC, a Pennsylvania-based financial planning and investment management firm with $233 million in assets. The acquisition will expand Merit’s presence with a fifth office in the Keystone state. 

Gregory K. Richards, Principal of Hershey, will become wealth manager and partner at Georgia-based Merit and will be joined by the rest of his team. “By joining forces with Merit, we’re infusing more resources into our offering, providing us more time to spend with clients,” said Richards. “Merit’s offering will simplify our back-office complexities, broaden our access to technology, and increase our reach in the region.” 

This is Merit’s 33rd acquisition since taking a minority investment in December 2020 from Wealth Partners Capital Group and a group of strategic investors led by HGGC’s Aspire Holdings platform.  

Last month, Merit acquired Pillar Wealth Management Co., which expanded Merit’s assets by $179 million and added two new offices in Wisconsin. Additionally, the firm acquired Zimmermann Investment Management & Planning, an advisory firm with $739 million in client assets, expanding Merit’s presence with a fourth office in Pennsylvania. 

Merit has over 40 offices throughout the U.S. and managed $11.84 billion in assets as of June 30, 2024 ($8.8 billion in advisory, $2.8 billion in brokerage assets, and $253 million in assets under advisement). 

Financial terms of the deal, which closed on February 7, were not disclosed. FP Transitions acted as the sole advisor in this transaction. 

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