Mercer Advisors has announced the launch of its own broker-dealer. CEO Dave Welling believes the new brokerage will assist Mercer in better serving prospective clients and merger and acquisition (M&A) prospects, specifically those with legacy commission-based assets.

Mercer will continue its close relationship with Raymond James, where the firm currently has $5 to $6 billion of fee-based assets custodied. Those assets will remain with Raymond James. However, the assets on Raymond James' and other third-party brokerage platforms eventually will be consolidated into Mercer's broker-dealer.

Welling emphasized that the launch of the brokerage will not alter the firm's mission as a fee-only fiduciary, according to a WealthManagement article.

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