Merchant Stakes $2.5B Los Angeles RIA
Merchant Investment Management, a New York-based private partnership that provides growth capital and other support to independent financial services firms, has taken a minority stake in IFC Advisors, a Los Angeles-based registered investment advisor with about $2.5 billion in client assets.
IFC was founded in 2024 by a group of breakaway advisors from Wells Fargo, including Marc Ackerman, Nhaman Pelphrey, Francois Viljoen and Craig Thomas. Jim Hays, the former president and CEO of Wells Fargo Advisors, joined IFC last year as executive chairman. Dave Colón, a former group CEO and president within Omnicom, a large global marketing and media holding company, joined about a year ago as CEO.
“Partnering with Merchant enables us to further invest in our people, capabilities and growth without compromising our mission or fiduciary commitment,” Ackerman said in a statement. “This partnership strengthens our ability to serve clients with clarity, conviction and impact.”
In addition to growth capital, Merchant will provide IFC with resources and access to its network of independent advisory and financial firms, which recently have included adjacent services to wealth management, such as trust and tax services. IFC’s growth strategy involves both recruiting and M&A.
This follows news in December that Merchant made a minority investment in Las Olas Capital Advisors, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based broker/dealer and RIA with nearly $387 million in AUM. The firm also disclosed its 2024 minority investment in Kathmere Capital Management, a Philadelphia-based RIA with $3.4 billion in assets.
Merchant has stakes in 125 firms and RIA practices in six countries, collectively managing over $300 billion in assets. It has recently been investing in wealth management adjacent services such as trust, tax and accounting to offer them to its advisor network.