Simplicity Adds Advisory Team, Tax Expertise With Two Deals
Simplicity Group has acquired two financial advisory firms, Denver-based MAIA Wealth and Chicago-based Zen Wealth Management Group, expanding its wealth management footprint in the Rocky Mountain region and adding tax planning expertise. Financial terms and acquired assets under management were not disclosed.
Key members of MAIA Wealth’s team, including Scott Marek, Chandler te Velde and Desmond Dimond, will operate as Simplicity Wealth Advisors: Denver. The advisors will gain access to Simplicity’s marketing, wealth technology, business succession planning, and expanded insurance and investment offerings for high-net-worth individuals, families and business owners.
“As Simplicity Wealth Advisors: Denver, our team gains the scale, resources, and operational backing of a leading national firm while maintaining the personalized, high-touch relationships our clients rely on,” Marek said.
Zen Wealth, founded by Eddie Patel, will rebrand as Simplicity Tax Advisors, and Patel will join Simplicity as a partner. The firm combines tax preparation and planning with holistic wealth management, and Simplicity plans to expand that model across its national network.
“Integrating skillful tax preparation with forward-looking tax planning is critical for long-term holistic financial planning, yet it remains the missing link in most families’ retirement plans,” Patel said.
“Their expertise goes beyond tax preparation and planning to address the wealth accumulation and protection goals of their clients,” said Bruce Donaldson, CEO of Simplicity.
The deals add to a busy year for the Summit, New Jersey-based firm. In February, it acquired Birmingham, Alabama, brokerage general agency LeSourd Partners. In April, it bought Texas-based Insurance Planners and Advisors Group, and in August it acquired Mid-Atlantic Wealth Advisory Group, a Pennsylvania RIA. In September, it added Des Moines-based Whitney and Associates and its affiliated RIA, Altitude Capital Management.
Simplicity has also expanded its reach through a partnership with LPL Financial that took effect May 1, under which LPL moved its internal insurance unit, LPL Insurance Associates, to Simplicity.