Merit Financial Advisors Adds Fourth Office in Georgia with Acquisition of Dasher & Padgett Financial Advisors, Inc.

Merit Financial Advisors (“Merit”), a Georgia-based financial advisory firm that specializes in financial planning and wealth management solutions for high-net-worth individuals and families and those navigating life transitions, today announced it has acquired Dasher & Padgett Financial Advisors, Inc. (“D&P”). The firm, which has an office in Albany, Georgia, expands Merit’s presence in the region with its fourth Georgia location. The acquisition increases Merit’s assets by $118 million. 

D&P specializes in providing investment management for individuals and businesses. Co-owners Thomas Padgett, Thomas Gay, and Bruce Gordon will assume new roles at Merit as Wealth Managers and be joined by their entire team. D&P will receive back-office and operational support from Merit.

“We selected Merit to align ourselves with a national advisory firm that can provide our team and clients with the necessary back-end and operational support,” said Bruce Gordon. “We are thrilled to be joining forces with Merit’s Atlanta office and leveraging the team’s expertise to deliver the best possible service to our clients.”  

“Dasher & Padgett is an excellent addition to our growing team,” said Rick Kent, CEO, and Founder of Merit. “With their years of experience we are eager to welcome them and expand our presence in Georgia.”

This is Merit’s seventh acquisition since taking a minority investment in December 2020 from Wealth Partners Capital Group (“WPCG”) and a group of strategic investors led by HGGC, leveraging its Aspire Holdings platform. Earlier this month, Merit announced its acquisition of Union Financial Advisors, which added $370 million in acquired assets and established its presence in Oklahoma.

“I am excited to be a part of Merit’s local and national expansion,” said Kirk Wilkerson, Co-Regional Director of the Atlanta region. “The acquisition of Dasher & Padgett brings Merit to 28 offices around the country, four in our region, and I thank the entire Merit team for all the hard work transitioning Dasher & Padgett into our family.”

The merger was finalized on May 20, 2022. Financial and legal terms of the deal were not disclosed.

For more information, please visit https://www.meritfinancialadvisors.com/for-advisors/.