Savant Capital Management and Huber Financial Advisors Announce Merger
Two of Chicagoland’s Largest Independent RIAs Partner to Become One of Nation’s Top Firms
- Increases Savant’s Chicagoland assets to $3.1 billion; $8 billion nationally
- Enhances Chicago-area footprint to include nine office locations
- Becomes one of the nation’s largest independent and privately owned fee-only firms
- Firm well-positioned to reach its goal of improving 1 million lives in 25 years
Savant Capital Management, a nationally recognized, fee-only wealth management firm, and Huber Financial Advisors, an independent wealth management firm, today announced that they will merge during the first quarter of 2020.
The combined firm will become one of the nation’s largest independent and privately owned fee-only Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) firms, increasing Savant’s assets under management (AUM) in the Chicagoland region to $3.1 billion and $8 billion overall, and employing over 200 people.
Huber Financial Advisors will adopt the Savant Capital Management name and branding after the integration, which is expected to finalize by March 31, 2020. The owners of Huber Financial Advisors will transition their current equity into Savant and several plan to increase their stake over time. In addition, several additional Huber Financial Advisors team members will become Savant owners at closing. Once combined, Savant will have over 70 employee owners and remain both employee-led and controlled. Savant will have broader employee ownership than nearly any other advisory firm in the industry.
Founded in 1988 by David Huber, Huber Financial Advisors has become a leading RIA firm with 28 employees and serving more than 1,000 families and businesses. Merging with Savant presents an opportunity to significantly enhance Huber Financial Advisors’ capabilities and offerings including Savant’s in-house accounting, estate, trust, wealth transfer, and sophisticated business consulting services.
“This transaction represents two decades of mutual respect for each other’s organizations. Our firms share similar internal cultural and core values as well as parallel philosophies in servicing our clients and providing fiduciary excellence to them,” said Brent Brodeski, Savant’s CEO. “We look forward to welcoming Huber Financial Advisors’ team members to the Savant team and further enhancing services to their clients.”
Huber said, “Since starting Huber Financial in 1988, I have always put our clients first in every decision. Our entire team is delighted to be partnering with Savant and we are all excited about our future, and the opportunities that it represents for our clients and employees.”
Huber Financial Advisors’ leadership will integrate with Savant’s executive team and work together to realize a shared, long-term vision. In addition to working with clients, David Huber, CFP® will have an advisory role to Savant’s board of directors; Rob Morrison, CFP®, will be a member of Savant’s executive team; and Phil Huber, CFA, CFP® will become Savant’s chief investment officer.
The merger will allow Savant to continue its quest to improve more than 1 million lives within the next 25 years. The objective is to improve lives financially, professionally, educationally, philanthropically, and in myriad other ways. Lives might be improved directly (clients and team members), indirectly (participants of retirement plans managed by Savant), or tangentially (beneficiaries of the good work done by non-profits that Savant, Savant’s clients, and Savant team members support).