Strategic Investment Solutions Merges into Verus

Consultancy and outsourced-CIO (OCIO) provider Verus Advisory has agreed to merge with San Franscisco-based Strategic Investment Solutions (SIS), uniting under the Verus brand.

The combined firms’ client assets will top $380 billion—the bulk of it in traditional consulting mandates, not discretionary management—according to company documents.

The firms are merging in order to more effectively compete with other consulting and OCIO providers, said Verus CEO Jeffrey MacLean in a release.

No layoffs or departures are anticipated as a result of the merger. SIS CEO Barry Dennis will serve as a managing director at Verus, the firms said.

“SIS clients have been aware of our search for a partner that allows us to maintain superior, customized client service and to plan for my eventual succession,” Dennis said.

Verus, rebranded from Wurts & Associates in April, manages $21 billion in outsourced capital, and advises on $90 billion as a consultant, according to figures Verus published in July.

The firm’s clients include Delta, which recently chose the firm as an OCIO partner alongside UBS Asset Management for its multi-billion dollar pension.

SIS, based in San Francisco, brings with it advisory relationships on $267 billion in pension, nonprofit, and family office assets.

OCIO services are more in demand than ever, according to a report earlier this year by Cerulli Associates, but the field is also becoming more competitive.

According to the report, investor demand for comprehensive services at a low cost has put pressure on new and less-resourced entrants to the OCIO industry, with the result of an “eventual shake-out or consolidation.”

In April, Goldman Sachs Asset Management agreed to purchase OCIO provider Pacific Global Advisors from Pacific Life Insurance Company. Pacific Global Advisors, which specialized in corporate pensions, had full discretion of over $2.84 billion in retirement assets, according to the 2015 Chief Investment Officer OCIO Buyer’s Guide.