Denver-based Mercer Advisors on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Beach Freeman Lim & Cleland (BFLC), a Southern California-based firm that provides tax, accounting and business advisory services to high net worth individual investors, families and business owners.
The transaction closed on Oct. 31 and, as is the case with all firms that join Mercer, BFLC will change its name to the Mercer Advisors brand “after a transition period,” a spokesperson for Mercer Advisors told WSR.
The entire BFLC team of 20, including “a mix of tax professionals and support staff,” is joining Mercer, including Doug Beach, Managing Partner at BFLC, the spokesperson said.
“Equity ownership opportunities” will be available to members of the BFLC team, which is the case with all full-time Mercer employees, it said.
BFLC operates from offices in El Segundo, Irvine and Ontario, California, Mercer said.
The tax specialist firm expands Mercer’s Southern California footprint and strengthens its “family office platform to meet growing demand for sophisticated tax planning,” Mercer said in a news release.
BFLC’s tax professionals serve clients in industries and professions including construction, franchise businesses, healthcare, law, professional athletics and real estate, Mercer noted.
“Kendrick Mercer, who founded our firm 40 years ago, was himself a tax and estate attorney,” Jeremiah Barlow, Chief Solutions Officer at Mercer, said. “Tax professionals have long played a core role in our family office delivery, and we are thrilled to add the BFLC team to deliver a local family office experience in southern California communities that we serve.”
“BFLC is a ‘first-call’ professional services firm that has developed strong partnerships with clients to support them on their entrepreneurial journeys,” according to Daniel Gourvitch, President of Mercer Advisors.
“Most importantly, their culture of partnership and investing in CPA talent very much mirrors our own. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome them to the Mercer Advisors family,” Gourvitch said.
He added, “Their strong client relationships and Southern California presence make them a valuable addition to Mercer Advisors as we scale our tax services in key markets.”
“We’ve built lasting relationships by delivering the personalized attention of a large, local firm, grounded in a deep understanding of our clients’ unique needs.” — Doug Beach, Managing Partner, Beach Freeman Lim & Cleland
“We’ve built lasting relationships by delivering the personalized attention of a large, local firm, grounded in a deep understanding of our clients’ unique needs,” according to Doug Beach, Managing Partner at BFLC.
He added, “Partnering with Mercer Advisors allows us to build on that legacy, expanding our capabilities, enhancing opportunities for our team and continuing to deliver the collaborative, solutions-focused support our clients count on. We believe this is the right next step for both our clients and our team.”
Mercer Advisors, which has a national tax team of over 120 professionals in all, said it was exclusively advised on the transaction by Republic Capital Group.
“BFLC represents Mercer Advisors’ 13th acquisition in 2025, with additional deals expected to close before year-end, following 11 completed acquisitions in 2024,” the Mercer spokesperson told WSR.
Mercer recently acquired firms that included RIAs West Oak Capital, headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, and Eagle Wealth Management and its sister firm Eagle Wealth Accountants, based in Bend, Oregon. Those acquisitions added a total of about $850 million in assets to the $81 billion in client assets under management (AUM) that Mercer said it had at the time.
Mercer now manages about $90 billion in client assets, with more than 1,400 employees and over 100 locations, it said Wednesday.
Jeff Berman, Contributing Editor and Reporter at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at jeff.berman@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
