Loring Ward Merger with Buckingham Advisors Services

Jennifer Hester |

We wanted to make you aware of a change related to our investment and back-office service provider, Loring Ward. They recently announced that they will be merging with BAM (Buckingham) Advisor Services, a similar firm with a similar mission located in St. Louis, MO. Both firms have a loyal client base of independent financial advisors who mostly serve individual investors. Both BAM Advisor Services and Loring Ward follow the same evidence-based investment philosophy and share a strong commitment to doing the right thing for their clients as do we. Once we were made aware of the merger we asked many questions to help provide clarity on why this would ultimately be in the best interest of our Legacy family. Over time, our hope is that this merger will allow us to serve you better. Loring Ward has expressed this merger will provide many positive changes in a number of areas as the firms combine resources and expertise, including enhanced reporting, new fixed income management, and additional investment research, financial planning, and educational tools and resources. The merger is expected to be completed towards the end of 2018. As part of this closing process, you will receive a "no action" notification letter in mid-October. The good news is that you don't need to do anything at all in response to this letter. By not responding, you agree to have your advisory agreement transferred to the merged firm - which we believe makes the most sense and will allow us to continue to serve and support you. We will update you as new information becomes available, but in the meantime, if you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please let us know. We thank you for the opportunity to serve you and pray each of you are doing well!