United Capital Announces c5 Wealth Management Acquisition

Fast-growing private wealth counseling firm United Capital Financial Advisers of Newport Beach, Calif., announced Wednesday that it has acquired the majority of assets from c5 Wealth Management, a registered investment advisor based outside of Washington in Great Falls, Va.

The deal follows on the heels of United Capital’s July 1 announcement that it had acquired the majority of assets from Georgia-based PPA Advisors. Combined, the two acquisitions will give United Capital a broader footprint in the East Coast.

Founders Paul Bennett, PhD, MSF, CFP, and Stanley Corey, CFP, ChFC, CPWA, join as managing directors of c5 Wealth Management, now a division of United Capital Financial Advisers. With approximately $300 million in assets under advisement, the firm brings a diverse client base of wealthy families and individuals, trusts, corporate retirement and pension plans and foundations.

Bennett and Corey said they joined United Capital because they were looking to alleviate administrative burdens that took time away from their clients and the firm’s growth.

“By reducing our back-end office needs, we will have more time to connect with clients,” Bennett said in a statement. ‘Our clients span multiple generations, and with United Capital’s resources and support, we know we are going to thrive for years to come and meet the expectations for our diverse client set.”

In 2009, Boomer Market Advisor named c5 as its advisor of the year. Bennett has more than 24 years of experience and Corey has more than 33 years in the industry, and the partners founded c5 in 2006 by merging their independent RIAs.

In addition to administrative assistance, c5 will use United Capital’s advice process, Honest Conversations, to create consistency in their wealth planning process. The two new managing directors, along with their staff of five, have plans to expand their advisory team in the northern Virginia market.

Matt Brinker, senior vice president of partner development and acquisitions at United Capital, said the firm is looking forward to partnering with c5 and help them enhance their work with multigenerational clients and focus on growing not only client assets, but the firm itself.

“We will be able to support the team on both the administrative and planning side, as well as help them work toward future growth and increased profits,” Brinker said in a statement.

As of March 31, United Capital and its affiliates had approximately $17 billion in assets under advisement.

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Read M&A Roundup: United Capital Acquires Atlanta-Based PPA Advisors at AdvisorOne.