Greystone Financial Group, Inc., a Troy, Michigan-based RIA that provides customized 401(k) solutions to plan sponsors, has merged with Polaris Wealth Advisors, a San Rafael, California-based RIA that specializes in advising high net worth individuals.
In a release, the company, now called Polaris Greystone Financial Group, LLC., or PGFC, said the firm intends to expand its geographic reach by pairing each entity's core competencies: Greystone's customized 401(k) plans and Polaris' "strong money management capabilities."
The announcement raises the question of whether or not this merger is emblematic of a potential trend in the RIA space going forward.
Recommended For You
According to the Investment Company Institute, Americans held $7.6 trillion in IRA assets last year, while $6.8 trillion was in defined contribution accounts.
About $350 billion was rolled from 401(k) accounts last year.
That figure is projected to be $540 billion by 2019, as more baby boomers leave the work place and move assets from employer-sponsored plans, according to ICI.
Nearly half of all assets in IRAs come from 401(k) rollovers, says the ICI.
The trillions in projected rollover assets is of course a primary motivation behind the Department of Labor's effort to regulate a comprehensive fiduciary standard throughout the financial services industry.
RIAs who exclusively advise 401(k) plans might be motivated to merge with a retail fiduciary capability in order to maintain scale as more of the assets they oversee leave plans and enter the retail space.
And RIAs with a focus on the individual market might be motivated to partner with 401(k) specialists in the effort to channel more plan assets.
How the DOL finalizes its proposed fiduciary rule stands to create an impact on such mergers.
Many industry experts have said the DOL's proposal will have less impact on RIAs, because they already operate under a fiduciary standard.
But one provision of the DOL's rule says RIAs, or brokers who operate under the suitability standard, cannot charge fees in excess of what participants paid in-plan when they roll assets into an IRA.
Doing so would constitute a prohibited transaction under the proposed rule, according to attorneys from Drinker Biddle.
Jeffrey Powell, founder of Polaris, will remain as CEO of the newly formed PGFC, and Todd Moss, co-founder of Greystone, will be president and senior partner and oversee the firm's day-to-day operations, according to the release.
Neither was available for comment before press time.
According to Brightscope, Polaris had about $518 million under management prior to the merger, and Greystone has about $341 million under management.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In a statement, Powell said: "The combination of Polaris and Greystone brings together two well-established investment advisory firms and enhances our ability to provide superior wealth management and retirement planning services."
"We are excited by the opportunity to build on the PGFG platform to expand our services and extend into other key wealth markets throughout the United States," added Powell.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Nick Thornton
Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.
