A private equity-backed wealth manager and retirement plan firm acquired a big 401(k) advisor previously affiliated with a rival.
OneDigital Investment Advisors purchased the assets of Baltimore-based Fiduciary Plan Advisors, a nine-employee firm managing $6 billion in retirement plan assets on behalf of 200,000 participants, the firm said June 3. The practice, led by Managing Directors Jania Stout and Chad Wilson, had been affiliated with Hightower and its broker-dealer.
The acquisition for an undisclosed amount closed on May 1, and Fiduciary Plan will affiliate with Advisor Group’s Triad Advisors as its BD and OneDigital as its RIA. The Overland Park, Kansas-based RIA’s parent, OneDigital,
Fiduciary Plan’s deal is New Mountain Capital-owned OneDigital’s eighth acquisition of the year. It stemmed from “the increased needs of our plan-sponsor clients to have more consulting around financial wellness for the participants and utilizing technology,” says Stout, who served as president of the National Association of Plan Advisors from 2018-20.
“We got to a point where we thought we'd either have to build it ourselves or start looking for other firms to align with who could meet the needs,” she says.
Stout’s firm had been using Hightower’s outsourced technology for the past seven years, Hightower spokeswoman Patty Buchanan said in an emailed statement.
“Hightower wishes Fiduciary Plan Advisors well and looks forward to continued collaboration with the team,” Buchanan said.
Stout’s team chose OneDigital after a search in consultation with Park Sutton Advisors that took roughly a year and started with 12 potential partners. She and Wilson first teamed up 13 years ago when both were with PSA Financial Advisors, and they built Fiduciary Plan to its current size from scratch when they moved to Hightower, according to Stout. Its client base among midsize corporate sponsors includes publicly traded firms, health care systems and large law firms offering employees 401(k) plans, 403(b)’s and defined benefit programs.
“Jania has been an unbelievable leader in our industry,” says Vince Morris, president of OneDigital Retirement + Wealth. “It was really an honor to go through this process with her and have her be able to join us.”
OneDigital spans more than 100 offices and 2,400 business strategists working with 60,000 employees. Its RIA consists of 59 retirement and wealth offices, managing roughly 5,000 retirement plans for 900,000 participants. After Morris’ firm folded into its PE-backed parent last year, its revenue surged 60% year-over-year with 10% attributable to organic growth and the rest from other M&A deals. Earlier this year, the RIA also
