AssetMark Financial Holdings, a Concord, Calif.-based turnkey asset management platform and technology provider owned by private equity firm GTCR, has agreed to acquire Efficient Advisors, an asset management platform for registered investment advisors, from the Fiduciary Services Group.
The acquisition, expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, will bring to AssetMark Efficient’s roughly 200 RIAs and $3 billion in client assets by about next April, according to Lou Maiuri, AssetMark’s chairman and group CEO.
Maiuri said the move is intended to expand AssetMark’s position in the growing RIA sector, which currently accounts for about 30% of its $158 billion in platform assets, with broker/dealer operators making up the rest.
“When we look into the future, we see 7% to 10% growth in the RIA segment over the next five years—that is where the growth is happening,” Maiuri said.
He added that while there is consolidation in the upper market of RIAs, AssetMark is targeting existing RIAs with assets of $2 billion or less, as well as those that are entering the space “every single day.”
“We think that’s a great opportunity for us to lean in to provide those services to those who are basically independent business owners in the financial advice business,” Maiuri said. “We can say to them: ‘Look, focus on building your practice, focus on your client’s life plan, and build them a wealth plan, and then leverage our capabilities.’”
The deal marks AssetMark’s eighth acquisition since 2014, and less than a year after it closed an acquisition of the Morningstar Wealth Turnkey Asset Management Platform.
Efficient was part of a group of companies owned by the Fiduciary Services Group, which focuses on the retirement services space and is backed by the private equity firm Lee Equity Partners.
Maiuri said AssetMark completed the deal in cash, declining to provide the terms.
He said the firm will gain access to Efficient Advisors’ team, including CEO Steve Miller, which will bring their experience and connections in the RIA space.
“Steve and the team will continue to do what they do every day to make sure that experience with those advisors is protected,” Mauiri said. “Then the thought is … how can they, from a channel standpoint, help us grow, particularly grow given their expertise.”
In turn, Efficient Advisors will get to use to AssetMark’s advisor technology, business consulting services and investment strategist lineup. In July, AssetMark said it would be rolling out private market capabilities to advisors, including independent RIAs, in the fourth quarter of this year.
Earlier this year, AssetMark also appointed Phill Rogerson as senior vice president and head of the RIA channel, a newly created position. He had previously worked at Envestnet in a similar role for six years and reports to AssetMark President and CEO Michael Kim.
In addition to working with independent advisors, AssetMark collaborates with enterprise RIAs through its Adhesion Wealth business, which it acquired in 2022. The company offers multiple custodial options, including its own, as well as those of Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments and BNY Pershing.
PricewaterhouseCoopers served as financial advisor to AssetMark, with Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel. DLA Piper provided legal counsel to Fiduciary Services Group.
AssetMark has more than 10,500 financial advisors and 318,000 investor households on its platform. Its services include investment management, estate planning, tax optimization, and personalized investing, such as direct indexing.