Legacy Capital Sells Corporate Benefits Business to OneDigital

(Legacy Capital)

Legacy Capital Group of Little Rock has sold its corporate benefits business to OneDigital Health & Benefits of Atlanta, the nation’s largest company focusing only on employee benefit services.

The companies, both private, announced the deal on Wednesday without disclosing financial details.

Raymond Raphael of Fayetteville, who led Legacy Capital’s employee benefits division headquartered in its northwest Arkansas office, will stay on as managing principal of OneDigital’s Arkansas operation. He will also keep his team of seven advisers, who “will continue serving clients while expanding their capabilities, expertise and enhanced benefit solutions,” according to a news release from OneDigital.

Wally Dawson, regional managing principal for OneDigital’s Southeast operations, praised Raphael’s “impressive operation” and its steady growth. “We are thrilled for Raymond and the Legacy Capital employee benefits team to be joining the OneDigital Southeast Region… Their robust client base will continue to receive the exceptional service they are accustomed to, only now with OneDigital’s industry-leading capabilities and solutions.”

Matt Jones, Legacy Capital’s president, said the sale made sense given the rapid technological changes in human resources management and a “need for greater scale to offer the highest quality of service to our clients,” according to a company statement.

“This gives Legacy Capital the opportunity to focus exclusively on growing our wealth management practice and enhancing our concierge services to the affluent and ultra-affluent,” Jones said.

Founded in 1978 as McGehee & Associates, Legacy Capital has offices in Little Rock, Fort Smith and Springdale. It had offered counsel on wealth accumulation, life insurance and corporate benefits, but the sale shifts the corporate benefits side of the business to OneDigital.

“Our business has always been about people,” said Jason Prather, managing principal of Legacy Capital. “Now our multidisciplinary team can focus exclusively on counseling our clients on the most innovative ways to grow, preserve and transfer their wealth.” 

Formerly Digital Insurance, OneDigital has more than 950 employees, serves 35,000 companies and handles nearly $4 billion in premiums. Earlier this year, the company signaled an appetite for new acquisitions when it raised its credit facility to $200 million, “giving the company additional capacity to capitalize on the strong pipeline of potential acquisitions,” Brent Bickett, executive vice president of Fidelity National Financial Ventures, told Bloomberg in May.

Raphael said his team will now have access to the top technology and labor resources afforded by a large national firm. “I feel confident that our decision to become part of a national company with the same values and culture that we have built over time in our local agency will only enhance our local team,” he said.