Marty Bicknell loads up on Neuberger Berman capital 'ahead of plans' after RIA deal 'supply' exploded ahead of plan -- and financier rolled with 'marching order'
The Mariner Wealth CEO and owner will give up a board seat, but still call the shots on growth plans, as pipeline hits 10 'engagements', and may accelerate even more; 5,000-advisor goal stays intact.
5 min read- Mariner secured Neuberger Berman investment to accelerate its 5,000-advisor growth strategy.
- Neuberger Berman's investment values Mariner Wealth Advisors at over $4.5 billion.
- Bicknell retained board control despite adding Neuberger Berman as a minority investor.
Marty Bicknell did not really expect to do a big capital raise in 2024, but RIA deals placed unexpected demands on his capital – and now Neuberger Berman has stepped in to keep the ball rolling.
“The 'why' is definitely the 5,000-advisor strategy and staying -- perhaps accelerating -- the pace we're on,” says the president, CEO, founder and owner of Mariner Wealth Advisors. See: After leaping to $110 billion AUA, Marty Bicknell sets hard date for Mariner to hit 5,000 advisors predicted by wife and COO Cheryl
“The opportunity was ahead of our plans because our growth was ahead of plan. We wanted to take advantage,” he told RIABiz in an interview.
“The supply is not coming down. We have 10 active engagements right now. I don't see that slowing down in the meantime.”
Neuberger Berman (NB), an investment management unit spun out of the Lehman Bros. bankruptcy, made a “significant minority growth investment” at a valuation “north of $4.5 billion,” according to a source claiming familiarity with the deal, and picked up a board seat in the Overland Park, Kan., RIA.
NB joins existing investor, Leonard Green & Partners (LGP), which made a 2021 minority investment in Mariner.
“Leonard Green was very supportive and helpful and even joined all the meetings,” Bicknell says.
No push back
After leap to $110 billion AUA, Marty Bicknell sets hard date for Mariner to hit 5,000 advisors predicted by wife and COO Cheryl
The exact size of the investment was not disclosed. Bicknell says he can not comment on valuation, stake, or terms. He doubts the need to seek cash, again, for three to five years, he adds.
Still, hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars in private equity cash alone was not enough to buy Bicknell's love.
“As you can imagine, we had multiple suitors and among the marching orders, from myself [chuckle], the partner had to let my management team do what we do and allow us board control – and frankly nobody pushed back on that,” he says.
David Lyon, head of NB Capital Solutions, makes clear that the leadership pecking order is fine by him.
“This investment underscores our confidence in Marty's leadership and the entire Mariner team,” he says in a release. "Marty has built a truly differentiated business that sets the standard for personalized, holistic financial advice.
Mega-ambitions
Pushback or not, what Bicknell pulled off in adding a major investor without sacrificing majority control, is no mean feat, says Mike Wunderli, managing partner of ECHELON Partners, an M&A firm in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
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“Neuberger is a legitimate partner, and to get them on alongside Leonard Green while maintaining majority control is a tremendous win for Mariner,” he said yesterday from the Tiburon CEO Summit in San Francisco.
The event was abuzz with the news, he added. Bicknell canceled his trip to the event, he says, because the deal closing necessitated extra communication with his broad-based ownership within the company.
Iconiq Capital doubles its New York City footprint to reflect spike in hiring and new clients, but AUA has been stuck around $80 billion for past two years
One thing Bicknell did not cancel is the potential mega-ambitions he first referenced in a 2023 Charlie Paikert article in Barron's about his willingness to buy a fellow giant RIA.
“The right fit we would definitely consider,” he says. “We're working on nothing today, but I think it's inevitable [that a mega-merger will occur].”
Racing for cash
Bicknell adds that he expects a mega-merger to happen in 2025, though not necessarily involving his firm.
RIA pundits consider mega-players to be big national RIAs like Edelman Financial Engines, Fisher Investments, or Creative Planning, and maybe a big national rollup like CI Financial [aka Corient], Focus Financial, or Mercer.
The race to raise cash is on.
Fisher recently loaded up on cash. See: Ken Fisher will reap a staggering sum for small stake in deal that values Fisher Investments near $13 billion -- after denying nearly the same deal in January
Mercer raised $1 billion last year. See: Mercer is hiring ex-Schwabbies like crazy after five-year AUM jumps from $9B to $56B -- with a big bump in the past 12 months -- using 100 IARs who only sell the RIA as chum for M&A
Creative Planning did, as well, while proclaiming its large ambitions. See: Tight with Goldman Sachs and light on debt, Peter Mallouk sets 'no upper limit' on 2025 M&A ambitions and is 'very interested' in buying super-peer RIAs worth billions
Dueling deals
Though Neuberger Berman is little known in RIA circles, it did emerge in one other “RIA” funding deal with an $80-billion RIA.
The Neuberger Berman-owned private equity investor, Dyal Capital Partners, snapped up a 6% stake in Iconiq Capital, a San Francisco RIA, in late 2020. See: Iconiq Capital doubles its New York City footprint to reflect spike in hiring and new clients, but AUA has been stuck around $80 billion for past two years
Neuberger Berman also invested in Hightower Advisors in 2020.
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