Senior Market Sales® Acquires EMG Insurance Brokerage

Collaboration Among SMS’ Acquired Partners Creates Exclusive Opportunities for Growth

Omaha, Nebraska – Senior Market Sales^® (SMS), one of the industry’s premier insurance marketing organizations (IMOs), has acquired EMG Insurance Brokerage, one of the oldest and most well-respected IMOs in the country.

SMS President Jim Summers touted the new partnership as a major win for SMS and parent company Alliant Insurance Services as they build a network of companies that work together to grow, spark industry innovation and impact advisors’ and their clients’ lives.

“EMG joins a network of acquired partners who celebrate individual entrepreneurship while fostering collaboration — that’s a unique and exciting culture,” Summers said. “At a time of rapid consolidation in our industry, we’re not just expanding to get bigger. We’re carefully selecting strategic partners who can help us achieve our vision of building the premier health and wealth distribution network in the industry.”

John Haver, SMS’ Senior Vice President, Marketing and Strategic Development, said that the addition of EMG complements SMS’ most recent acquisitions, which grew SMS’ life insurance presence and marked its entry into the Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual health insurance market. EMG’s holistic approach to retirement planning also attracted SMS.

“This partnership expands the opportunities for SMS, Alliant and all of our acquired partners,” Haver said. “The opportunities are endless when we’re all on the same team.”

EMG started as a Texas-based brokerage firm in 1972 with a simple mission — helping independent financial advisors navigate the insurance marketplace to find the right products for their clients. The brokerage general agency (BGA) formally incorporated in 1987, and today its national network of more than 80 partner and secondary offices supports financial advisors and institutions in all 50 states. In addition to life and ACA plans, EMG offers critical illness, long-term care, disability, travel and dental insurance, annuities, group benefits, and life settlements.

EMG President Durr Sexton said that Alliant and SMS resources will help the BGA grow, particularly in the small and mid-market group health area and in Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage, where SMS is a leader and expert. The SMS platform includes industry-leading back-office support, propriety technology, proven marketing systems and a comprehensive product portfolio of health and wealth solutions from top carriers.

Sexton and EMG Founder and CEO Thomas J. Archer said SMS’ exclusive programs and technology and its registered investment adviser, Sequent Planning, also attracted them.

“It was always about finding the right partner, the partner where we had a cultural fit. And right from the get-go with SMS, it felt good,” Sexton said. “We're independent, we're entrepreneurs. We value our independence. By virtue of doing this with an entrepreneurial, independently minded firm, we're only going to get stronger, we're only going to get better, we're only going to get bigger.”

EMG was represented during the transaction by MidCap Advisors, based in New York.