Merit Financial’s latest addition is a Wisconsin-based firm managing $715 million in assets.
The deal to buy Mennenga Tax & Financial comes on the heels of Constellation Wealth Capital’s minority stake in the Georgia-based firm announced this summer.
It is Merit’s 51st acquisition, with Merit Managing Principal Zach Mersberger saying the agreement reflects the firm’s “continued focus on providing holistic financial planning.”
Mennega Tax & Financial is based in Madison, Wisc., and offers comprehensive wealth management services, as well as tax and estate planning solutions. As part of the deal, Mennenga founder Marshall Mennegna will join Merit as a wealth manager and partner, along with 35 employees. They will gain access to Merit’s technology, resources and marketing tools.
The transaction was finalized Oct. 31, with FP Transitions acting as the advisor for the deal.
Merit is headquartered in Atlanta, with more than 40 offices around the country, managing approximately $20 billion in assets (including $14.06 billion in advisory and $2.6 billion in brokerage assets).
Merit has remained a busy player in the M&A space; last month, the firm acquired Obsidian Planning Solutions, a $476 million firm boosting Merit’s succession planning firepower. In August, Merit acquired Global Wealth Advisors, a $860 million team from Commonwealth, which added six new Merit offices, as well as Second Half Financial Planning, a $225 million Florida-based firm specializing in working with first responders.
In July, Merit agreed to sell a minority stake to Constellation Wealth Capital, a private equity firm focusing on wealth managers founded in 2023 by Karl Heckenberg, the former CEO of Emigrant Partners. The funding would support Merit’s expansion via acquisitions and advisor recruitment, as well as continued investments in technology and client service.
As part of the deal, Wealth Partners Capital Group and a group of investors led by HGGC’s Aspire Holdings sold the minority stake in Merit they’d held since 2019.
According to Merit CEO Rick Kent and President Kay Lynn Mayhue, the process of finding a new private equity partner took about a year, with the duo holding about 20 meetings. According to Mayhue, the firm is intending to buy out a few retiring partners and rework its equity and debt structure. At the same time, Kent said the Constellation deal will likely be “at least a five-year partnership,” although there is no specific timeline for the stake.