Indianapolis-based SBC Wealth Management merged into NYC firm

Indianapolis-based SBC Wealth Management, a 41-year-old financial advisory firm, is now part of Cerity Partners, a fast-growing wealth management firm based in New York City.

In announcing the deal, Cerity described the transaction as a merger. SBC is now operating under the Cerity name and SBC’s CEO, Patrick Morrow, is now a Cerity partner.

The deal closed Sept. 30. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Merging with Cerity Partners is a natural progression of our 40-year mission to deliver exceptional wealth management solutions,” Morrow said in a written statement.

SBC was founded in 1983 by former CEO Scott Holley, who also became a partner at Cerity as part of the merger.

In 2019, the firm placed 24th on IBJ’s Fast 25 list of fastest-growing privately held local companies. It earned that spot by reporting revenue growth of 37% between 2016 and 2018, with a reported $5.9 million in 2018 revenue.

Pre-transaction, SBC had $1 billion in assets under management. Those assets are now part of Cerity’s approximately $104 billion in assets under management. Also, as part of the deal, SBC’s 14 employees are now with Cerity.

“Welcoming their talented team to our partnership strengthens our regional presence in Indianapolis and enhances our ability to deliver custom wealth management services to our clients,” Cerity Partner Claire O’Keefe said in a written statement.

The deal now gives Cerity two offices in Indianapolis. It has taken over SBC’s office at 2920 E. 96^th St., just west of North Keystone Avenue and north of the Interstate 465 loop.

Cerity has an existing Indianapolis office at 5750 Castle Creek Parkway North Drive, Suite 170. The office is in Castleton, just east of Allisonville Road and north of East 86^th St.

Cerity, which did business as HPM Partners until a rebranding in 2019, was founded in 2009. The firm has more than three dozen offices in 16 states.

Since rebranding, Cerity has been on a growth tear. Over the past five years, the company has announced mergers with more than a dozen firms around the United States, growing its assets under management tenfold during that time.

The run of deals began in April 2019 with Cerity’s merger with Chicago-based Blue Prairie Group, which had $11 billion in assets under management. That deal brought Cerity’s total assets under management to more than $21 billion, according to a news release issued at the time.