IMA Financial Group has announced a strategic partnership with The Richards Group, a family-owned independent insurance and advisory firm serving Vermont, New Hampshire and surrounding areas.
Effective Dec. 31, 2025, the partnership brings The Richards Group's 160 employees and 28,000 clients on to IMA's national platform.
Rob Cohen, IMA chairman and CEO, noted that The Richards Group's expertise in healthcare, education and nonprofit sectors aligns with IMA's focus on specialized risk solutions. The partnership is designed to expand the scope of advisory services, enhance employee benefits programs and provide tailored risk management solutions for organizations with complex exposures.
The Richards Group, headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont, will maintain its 13 local offices, and its employees will become IMA shareholders. Principal Drew Richards said the collaboration allows the firm to enhance services and capabilities while keeping local teams intact and engaging employees as owners.
Aligning with brokerage trends
The partnership reflects a broader trend in the US insurance brokerage sector, where regional agencies align with national firms to expand specialty expertise, geographic reach and operational scale. As competition increases and client needs become more complex, regional firms are seeking affiliations with larger platforms to access deeper carrier networks, advanced analytics, and broader advisory capabilities.
Recent similar moves include national brokers forming strategic partnerships with established regional agencies to strengthen sector focus and service depth. These collaborations often preserve local leadership and client relationships while integrating resources such as technology platforms, actuarial support, and compliance infrastructure.
For IMA, adding The Richards Group expands its presence into New England, a region with distinct regulatory environments and sector risks, while enhancing its competitiveness in employee benefits - a segment under pressure from cost inflation and evolving workforce needs. The shareholder structure for The Richards Group’s employees aligns incentives around service continuity and long‑term growth, a model increasingly adopted in partnership transactions to support retention and cultural integration.
