ARK Financial Services Joins Buckingham Strategic Wealth

Buckingham Strategic Wealth, the St. Louis-based wealth management firm, has expanded its presence in the Washington D.C. area and increased its depth of talent by acquiring Bethesda, Maryland-based ARK Financial Services, which will assume the Buckingham name.

ARK Financial Services was founded in 2001 by Andrew Kline, CPA, CFP^®, and, like Buckingham, provides investment management and comprehensive financial planning services to families and businesses. Kline, who has more than 30 years of tax and investment advisory experience, and his team have been associated with Buckingham for more than a decade due to their membership in The BAM ALLIANCE, a nationwide community of independent advisory firms that engage BAM Advisor Services, Buckingham’s sister company.

“ARK was founded on a commitment to do what’s best for our clients, always,” Kline said. “It’s clear that this is a belief both our firms share, so the decision to join Buckingham was a natural one. What’s more, it allows us to deepen our client experience and gives us more time to do what we enjoy most: spending time with our clients. Aligning with a firm that shares our core values and comprehensive approach to wealth management is a great fit, and our clients will now have access to all the intelligence, experience, thought leadership, technology and strategic alliances that Buckingham has been building for more than 20 years.”

The transaction, which closed Feb. 1, 2018, also brings Wealth Advisor Andrew Leach to the Buckingham team, along with $172.5 million in assets under management (as of Jan. 30, 2018).

Buckingham CEO Adam Birenbaum echoes Kline’s sentiment. “Andy and his team are, first and foremost, awesome people and some of the highest-quality advisors I know,” he said. “We’re thrilled to come together, and what an honor it is that they chose to join Buckingham. I truly believe that their addition makes us a better organization. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that combining our efforts will help us better serve clients, which at the end of the day should be the singular focus of any quality wealth management firm. It’s no accident that both firms believe in wealth management that not only emphasizes highly engaged and profoundly personal relationships, but also that connects clients’ money with their values in a fundamental way.”

Welcoming ARK Financial Services continues Buckingham’s impressive transaction story, and the firm now has a presence in 21 cities across the nation.

“This transaction continues the firm’s strategic effort to deliver ever-deeper, more evolved wealth management solutions to our current and future clients, and it benefits everyone involved,” Birenbaum said. “Our firm and team continues to position itself to offer even greater levels of service to our clients throughout the country – and now, specifically, in Bethesda and further in the broader Washington D.C. area – all while adding to our amazing talent base.”

Buckingham is a partner firm within Focus Financial Partners and home to BAM Advisor Services and The BAM ALLIANCE, a community of more than 135 independent, like-minded advisory firms throughout the country that collectively manage or administer $34.2 billion (as of Jan. 30, 2018).

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