TRAVERSE CITY — FIM Group owner Paul Sutherland has sold the Traverse City-based wealth management firm to Mercer Advisors Inc.
Sutherland established Financial & Investment Management Group, Ltd. in 1984. He added an office in Kahului, Hawaii, in 1997 and another in Onalaska, Wisconsin, in 2001. FIM Group manages a total of $600 million in assets for 1,500 clients.
After the merger is approved, Mercer — which was established in 1985 — will manage $14.5 billion in assets. Mercer’s purchase of FIM Group is part of its effort to expand the area it serves.
“They would like to build out the Midwest,” Sutherland said, and Traverse City was a natural choice. “Everybody in the world knows Traverse City.”
Local clients will see no immediate changes, he said. All employees — 14 in Michigan, seven in Wisconsin and five in Hawaii — have been offered jobs with Mercer, which currently has 30 offices, mostly in large cities including its home office in Denver.
“One reason they were attracted to us is we have a really deep bench,” said Sutherland. “They’re excited because we have a great team.”
Sutherland signed a five-year contract to work with Mercer. He looks forward to spending less time on administrative tasks and more on research, writing and client contact.
“It frees me up some,” he said. “I still have a lot of fire in my belly.”
FIM Group’s philanthropic presence in Traverse City won’t change in the foreseeable future, said Sutherland. The company contributes to the Traverse City Film Festival and other local nonprofit organizations.
The FIM Group name will remain for now, but eventually could be replaced by Mercer signage.
“It probably will, in maybe 2020,” Sutherland said.
More information is available at www.merceradvisors.com.
