Merit’s acquisition of Safeguard Wealth Management Group will bring over $597 million in client assets, but more importantly, a financially-focused YouTube channel that regularly clocks tens of thousands of views.
April 29, 2025
Merit Financial Advisors has penned another registered investment advisor acquisition in part due to the financial content savvy of its co-founders.
Eric Sajdak and Anthony Hellenbrand launched the Safeguard Wealth Management Group just before the COVID-19 pandemic. With in-person events with prospective clients a moot point, Sajdak started a YouTube channel giving basic financial advice, complete with graphics and simple, but enthusiastic guidance for the layperson.
Fast-forward to today, and the channel has more than 67,000 subscribers while Safeguard manages more than $597 million in client assets.
“We have a YouTube channel at Merit, but nothing like this,” said Joshua Mersberger, a managing principal at Merit. “The draw was the content that Eric built and the team that Tony built out.”
Mersberger said Sajdak will bring his content creation skills to Merit in partnership with marketing head Samantha Allen. From there, the firm sees brand recognition and client leads being filtered to its network of 40 advisor offices and more than $12.27 billion in client assets.
“This will help position Merit as a thought leader and help drive more good organic growth,” Mersberger.
Safeguard, which will adopt the Merit name via the acquisition, grew its brand by focusing on financial education. Video topics include “Ten Charts To Give You Confidence During This Tariff ‘Meltdown’” and “Mutual Funds vs. ETFs.”
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“He’s not pitching a product,” Mersberger said. “He’s talking about what your everyday mass affluent person should know about, but don’t have any background in.”
Sajdak will join Merit as a partner and director of content, and Hellenbrand will be a partner and regional vice president.
“Joining Merit gives us the support we need to take our content to the next level and better serve our clients,” the co-founders said in a statement. “We’ve seen firsthand how digital education can build trust and drive growth, and we’re excited to amplify that success with Merit.”
This is Merit’s thirty-sixth acquisition since 2020. In March, it acquired Sanctuary Wealth Management and Fiduciary Services, expanding its assets by $1.6 billion.
The firm recently landed among DeVoe & Company’s three most active dealmakers in the first quarter of 2025 with four acquisitions.
Alex Ortolani
Senior Reporter, WealthManagement.com
Alex Ortolani is a New York-based senior reporter with WealthManagement.com with a focus on deals, moves and trends in the registered investment advisor space. In addition to financial and business reporting, he has worked in media relations and corporate communications for tech firms and Fortune 500 companies.
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Merit Financial Acquires YouTube-Savvy RIA for Content Strategy – WealthManagement.com
