AndCo Consulting, an institutional retirement plan advisory firm founded in 2000, had a longstanding commitment to keeping client interests first.

When the firm merged with wealth manager Mariner earlier this year, the decision was made in part with that client focus in mind, says Mike Welker, former CEO of AndCo and now national managing director of Mariner Institutional, the division created through the merger announced in February.

“Plan sponsors had been asking about whether we could provide more services to participants,” Welker says of the firm’s decision-making around the acquisition. “We were not looking to do a deal necessarily, but it was really positioning what was a strategic decision for the organization over the next five to ten years.”

Mike Welker

Mariner, which has about 1,691 associates working with individuals and small firms, has completed the combination with what is now Mariner Institutional less than two months ago, according to Welker. That includes the roughly 100 people now working in Mariner Institutional focused traditional and retirement plan advisory services. The February deal also included the acquisition of smaller Fourth Street Performance partners, bringing on a total of more than $100 billion in assets under advisement.

That combined force now puts Mariner at about $230 billion in AUA and assets under management enterprise-wide, as of year end 2023. The entire firm is under the leadership of CEO and President Marty Bicknell, who founded the wealth advisory division in 2006.

As head of the new Mariner Institutional, Welker notes that the firm will continue to operate in many ways as it had before, only now with a national team of financial advisers.

“One of the synergies we both saw was the fact that Mariner hadn’t focused on serving the institutional marketplace and we didn’t focus on the individual marketplace,” Welker says. “We saw how Mariner served their clients very well—in part by providing services and not focusing on pushing product—and felt there was a good cultural fit. They saw the same with us in the institutional space, and so by coming together we felt we could meet the combined needs of our clients.”

Market Trend

With the move, Mariner launched itself into the ranks of wealth and workplace retirement consulting firms positioning themselves to serve both plan sponsors and the participants amassing wealth through their retirement plans. Some similarly styled competitors share the same headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas, including Creative Planning and Prime Capital Investment Advisors.

Welker says Mariner and AndCo were in talks well before signing earlier this year, and even though they are just two months into full operations, are finding business connections among clients on both sides of the aisle.

“Mariner is very purpose driven and value based, which totally aligns with our previous organization,” Welker says. “Having those cultures mesh has gone well and has allowed for a positive integration so far.”

Before the merger, Welker’s team would be providing services in defined contribution plan design, fund lineup, fee benchmarking, and all its core focus areas and capabilities. But when a client came to them asking for participant services and individual planning referrals, which Welker says was becoming more common, the firm often “had to say no.”

“With this acquisition we can now bring experienced and trained wealth advisers to meet the needs of our clients,” he says.

Meanwhile, Mariner’s wealth division can now have in-house experts for wealth clients who have their own businesses, or perhaps serve as trustees on endowments and foundations in need of institutional plan services.

Disciplined Process

Welker notes that, while there is now a wealth side of the house, Mariner Institutional will be focusing on plan sponsor services and offerings, with care being taken regarding plan sponsor participants and the wealth business.

“We might make clients aware of our service offerings, but we don’t plan for our advisers to be directly soliciting. We would pursue if it is requested by the plan sponsor; if the client isn’t interested, then we’re not going to push it.”

Welker says that structure is possible because of the “client-centric” ethos of the division and entire firm. He notes an “open architecture” approach when it comes to working with plan sponsors, so if they prefer a different provider or partner, then Mariner Institutional can help guide them there.

“If something is not good for the client then you shouldn’t talk about it,” he says. “That’s how we keep happy clients and client retention.”

That said, Welker does see a growing demand for individual wealth management emerging from the institutional retirement space. As the defined contribution plan has become a source of savings for people, so do the complexities around managing it.

“A lot of plan sponsor clients are asking us about what we can do for participant education, financial wellness, and what tools we can provide,” he says. “We’re here to bring the apporopriate resources and experience to solve client issues and to do whatever works for the plan for a strong outcome.”

And even though the merger is still fresh, Welker notes that Mariner Institutional may bring on more talent provided it fits the culture and approach.

“We’re going to continue to grow while meeting the needs of the market that requires these services,” he says.