Creative Planning Acquires $600M RIA in Wisconsin

By Ginger Szala

News July 14, 2020 at 05:20 PM

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Creative Planning President Peter Mallouk.

Creative Planning has bought the RIA Thun Financial Advisors, a $600 million advisory firm based in Madison, Wisconsin, that specializes in working with U.S. investors who live overseas.

While earlier deals have helped Creative Planning expand its operations nationwide, the purchase of Thun is "more strategic," CEO Peter Mallouk told ThinkAdvisor on Tuesday.

Much of the Thun's business is focused on serving U.S. investors now living outside the country, which is a market Creative Planning wants to expand into, particularly because it includes investment and tax work.

Thun President David Kuenzi first met Mallouk a couple of years ago. But it wasn't until earlier this year that Kuenzi spoke with the CEO of Creative Planning again, after hearing him on a podcast. "We talked and made a deal," Mallouk said.

"Creative Planning is among the few financial service companies willing to embrace the complexities of cross-border advising," according to Kuenzi.

Thun's "international expertise and Creative Planning's depth and market reach will allow us to deliver best-in-class wealth management services to … investors who live and work across borders and around the globe," explained Kuenzi, who founded Thun in 2008.

This latest M&A news comes just two weeks after Creative Planning purchased Starfire Investment Advisers, an advisory firm in Southfield, Michigan, that works with about $530 million in assets. One week earlier, Creative Planning gobbled up a $700 million RIA in the Kansas City area, where it is based.

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