Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Alderfer Bergen & Co. in Warsaw is merging with Beacon Pointe Advisors, it was officially announced Tuesday, Sept. 9. Alderfer Bergen & Co. in Warsaw is merging with Beacon Pointe Advisors, it was officially announced today, Tuesday, Sept. 9.
While Alderfer Bergen & Co.’s name will change, Managing Directors and Partners Alan Alderfer and Mike Bergen said the merger will not only allow them to have more time to take care of their clients but also give them access to a number of experts in their fields.
“Basically, Mike and I have been spending more and more time on compliance, human resources, operations and it just got to where it was taking away from taking care of clients. So we started looking for a partner. And so we’re going to be giving up compliance, human resources, operations, which is going to give us time back so we can take care of our clients, and that’s what we enjoy doing,” Alderfer said in an interview.
Before deciding to go with Beacon Pointe, he said they interviewed a handful of firms, but chose to go with Beacon Pointe because of what they will bring to Kosciusko County.
“Beacon Pointe is going to be able to bring some things to Kosciusko County - for us, we’re going to have tax advisors, we’re going to have CPAs. Beacon Pointe has CPAs that we’re going to be able to lean on. We’re going to have access to estate planning attorneys. They have some estate planning attorneys on staff. They’re not going to do taxes, we’re not getting into the tax business. We’re not going to do wills and things, but we can get the advice from them,” Alderfer stated.
Also coming with Beacon Pointe will be family office services, which he said is something Warsaw has never had.
“On the investment side,” Bergen said, “it’s going to get us access to institutional quality investments that are vetted by world-class professionals. And for 20 years the investment department at Alderfer Bergen has been two people, just me and Alan. And, now, we’re going to have over 40 people that will help us and work with us.”
He said one of the reasons they picked Beacon Pointe was because their investment philosophy is the same as Alderfer Bergen’s. “It’s individualized and driven by the clients’ goals and needs. So it really was a good fit,” Bergen stated.
What will change with the merger, Alderfer said, is, “We now only work with clients on a commission-free basis. So we’ll be charging fees for what’s invested with the client, but we’re not going to be charging commissions anymore.”
The name on the building will change to Beacon Pointe Advisors.
“What’s not going to change is we’re still going to be the local experts for clients in the orthopedic industry, and we are the local experts on that and we are going to continue that,” he said.
They’re still going to have personalized, local, hands-on financial planning.
“All the staff is going to be the same,” Bergen said. “We’re not losing anybody. Everybody is still going to be doing the same things.”
Alderfer said, “The thing that is going to stay the same, that we take great pride in, is our community education: Through the newspaper article in the Times-Union, that’s going to continue, and then Smart Money Management will continue on WRSW, Willie 103 and 1480 NewsNow! So all of that is going to stay the same, we’re still going to educate the community.”
One of the other things that is important to them, Bergen said, “is our community involvement, and the support that we give the community, is not going to change either.”
Alderfer said the biggest change that clients have seen is that now they’re using Fidelity and Charles Schwab.
“And we were very excited to use Fidelity due to the local orthopedic companies, local banks, their 401(k)s were with Fidelity and we’ll be able to help,” he said.
Beacon Pointe is a national company. In their news release announcing the merger with Alderfer Bergen and addition of two other companies, Beacon Pointe states they’re increasing the firm’s total assets under advisement to approximately $48 billion. They now have more than 600 employees across more than 75 offices nationwide.
Matt Cooper, Beacon Pointe president, is quoted in the release as saying, “Beacon Pointe has become a home for advisors who appreciate our collaborative culture and platform, and we are proud to welcome these new teams who fit the mold. These coast-to-coast integrations reflect our continued commitment to serving clients with excellence by bringing them into our allWEALTH platform.”
CEO Shannon Eusey said, “Our Beacon Pointe mission has always been to serve people with excellence and integrity, and these new teams strengthen that mission. We are not only expanding resources and capabilities but also deepening our dedication to delivering truly comprehensive wealth management to individuals and families across the country. We are excited to see what the future holds with these additions to our firm.”
Alderfer stated, “We’re so excited to be partner/owners in the new combined firm with Beacon Pointe.”
For more information on Beacon Pointe, visit their website at www.BeaconPointe.com
