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Peter Mallouk

Industry Spotlight > Mergers and Acquisitions

Creative Planning Buys $1B Memphis RIA Firm

By Jeff Berman

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What You Need to Know

  • Creative Planning's purchase of Memphis, Tennessee-based Telarray brings 18 new employees to Creative Planning.
  • As of Dec. 31, Creative Planning managed or advised on more than $225 billion in assets across all 50 states and 65 countries.
  • The RIA firm has plans for continued growth throughout 2023, it said.

Creative Planning says it has acquired Memphis, Tennessee-based Telarray Advisors, an RIA firm that manages $1 billion in client assets.

The deal brings 18 Telarray employees — all advisors — to Overland Park, Kansas-based RIA Creative Planning, joining Creative Planning’s approximately 430 advisors across all offices.

Telarray has been serving its clients across the U.S. since 2005, handling a wide portfolio of investments. It offers services for everyone from those just beginning their investment journeys to senior corporate leaders with complicated compensation packages, according to Creative Planning.

Telarray specializes in retirement planning, estate planning, investing, tax management strategies, executive compensation and risk management. It has historically operated as a fee-only fiduciary.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. But Peter Mallouk, Creative Planning CEO, told ThinkAdvisor on Thursday that the transaction was finalized in January. “Telarray retained an investment banker that brought them to Creative,” he said.

The addition of the Telarray team “will help us break deeper into the Tennessee market,” according to Mallouk. It “gives us a strong presence in Memphis, which we did not have before.”

Creative Planning first entered Tennessee seven years ago, in Nashville, Mallouk told ThinkAdvisor, noting his company had only two advisors in the state, both in Nashville, before the latest acquisition. There is “no overlap” in offices between Creative Planning and Telarray, he said, adding that Telarray’s name has already been changed to Creative Planning.

“It was evident from very early on in our discussions that Telarray’s attention to detail, prioritization of clients’ needs, and overall work ethic would make a great addition to our team,” he said in a statement.

“Partnering with Creative Planning is a perfect match for Telarray,” according to Richard Paessler, Telarray CEO, president and chief compliance officer.

“We were looking for a firm that aligned with us in planning philosophy, culture, employee opportunities, and that provides an immediate expansion in our service offering for both our existing and future clients,” Paessler said in the news release announcing the deal. “Creative is that partner.”

In 2017, Paessler was named Telarray president, after joining the firm five years earlier as chief compliance officer and chief marketing officer.

As of Dec. 31, Creative Planning managed or advised on more than $225 billion in assets across all 50 states and 65 countries with continued plans for growth throughout 2023, it said.

The last acquisition that Creative Planning announced before Telarray was Milwaukee-based Wipfli Financial Advisors — an RIA firm with offices in nine U.S. states that manages $5 billion in client assets — from Wipfli LLP, a national tax, accounting and consulting firm, in August.

(Pictured: Peter Mallouk, Creative Planning CEO)

Jeff Berman

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