RIA consolidators flip to syndicated loans as Mercer refinances $1.9B

Mercer Advisors, the Denver-based mega-RIA with $111 billion in consumer belongings, has refinanced $1.9 billion of debt in its first transfer to the broadly syndicated mortgage market, which the agency expects will save $35 million to $40 million in curiosity in 2027 to gas additional trade progress and acquisitions.

The deal replaces Mercer’s non-public debt with a seven-year time period mortgage B and a five-year, $340 million revolving credit score facility. Goldman Sachs led the transaction, which Mercer stated was meaningfully oversubscribed. The new mortgage carries an interest rate 1.75 share factors decrease than its predecessor, based on the agency.

S&P Global Ratings, which rated Mercer B with a steady outlook in September 2026, stated the bundle features a $1.65 billion time period mortgage and a $250 million delayed draw time period mortgage.

“Mercer Advisors and the trade that we’re constructing, we’re now actually really institutional measurement enterprise energy, and I believe going to the general public trading floors for debt is a pure stepping stone for us in that progress,” Dave Welling, Mercer’s CEO, informed InvestmentNews. “You should be giant sufficient, and also you additionally must have the trade high quality metrics of natural progress, the predictability and stability of that natural progress to take this sort of step. The public trading floors are very discerning.”

How rival RIA platforms are financing offers

Mercer is the most recent giant RIA to lean on debt. In September 2025, EP Wealth Advisors took out a $400 million seven-year term loan and a $100 million revolver to pay down debt and finance acquisitions. In 2025, Merit Financial Advisors secured a larger credit line on better terms, negotiated with assist from minority investor Constellation Wealth Partners. Citywire reported on Oct. 15 that $74 billion RIA Beacon Pointe closed a $1.2 billion debt increase and earmarked $80 million for M&A.

“Quite a few our friends have taken this step as nicely. Our trade outcomes compares very favorably to that instant peer group, so it’s additionally a really attention-grabbing time within the unbiased RIA group, the place should you return 10 years in the past there have been only a few if any platforms of serious scale who may entry the general public trading floors, whether or not they had been the credit score trading floors or whether or not they had been the fairness trading floors, and now you will have the emergence of a number of platforms which are of serious scale,” Welling stated. He added that Mercer has grown by a median of greater than 30% per yr. 

Borrowers are buying and selling non-public credit score for financial institution loans, with $19.5 billion of personal debt refinanced into the syndicated market in 2026 versus $9.2 billion shifting the opposite manner, Bloomberg reported in September, citing JPMorgan and KBRA DLD information.

The offers come as RIA M&A volume dropped 17% in the third quarter, based on DeVoe & Company, whereas consolidators dealt with 53% of offers by way of September 2026. S&P expects Mercer’s adjusted debt-to-EBITDA to exceed 7x at closing earlier than easing to between 6x and 7x by way of 2027. The company stated Mercer’s private equity house owners – Altas Partners, Genstar Capital, Oak Hill Capital and GIC – will seemingly hold a excessive tolerance for leverage as acquisitions proceed.

M&A comes third in Mercer’s capital plan

Cheaper debt offers Mercer extra room to purchase, however Welling stated acquisitions rank behind the RIA’s plans to assist consumer companies and natural progress. Mercer is including over $1 billion a month in new consumer belongings and has employed near 400 folks in 2026,  and the RIA is “dramatically increasing” its estate planning and tax staff, stated Welling.

“Serving shoppers, including the following new consumer are actually the primary two steps within the monetary well being, after which we get to M&A. So M&A after that very strictly comes third in that order of operations,” Welling stated. “There’s different platforms that do M&A primary after which attempt to have to determine some issues later, we don’t assume that’s a accountable use of capital or according to our imaginative and prescient.”

Mercer accomplished 18 acquisitions in 2025 and expects an identical complete by the top of 2026, Welling stated. He added that 15 of the 2025 offers are rising sooner than earlier than becoming a member of. This yr’s combine tilts towards tax-only firms and expanded household workplace companies that Mercer seeks by way of M&A.

“I believe what you will see this yr that may be a little totally different than historical past is there’s extra tax corporations within the combine. Tax-only corporations—that is been an space of self-discipline,” stated Welling. “We have some expanded household workplace companies companies becoming a member of us that present household governance assist.”