Coeur d’Alene-based Pinkerton Investments Inc., the parent company of Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC, has acquired W.E. Sherman & Co. LLC, a national investment research firm headquartered in St. Louis.

Dan Pinkerton, co-owner and CEO of Pinkerton Retirement Specialists, says the company manages about 30 model investment portfolios for nationwide clients.

“We found 1 1/2 years ago that there was one source of research that resulted in our highest performing portfolios and that was fairly consistent,” says Pinkerton. “That source was Sherman out of St. Louis.”

Pinkerton says he reached out to W.E. Sherman’s founder, Bill Sherman, to inquire about his exit strategies.

“Knowing that the founder of the firm is age 74, he’s going to be looking for exit strategies, and when a research firm gets really good, they’re often bought out by a larger company, like Goldman Sachs, and we’d no longer have access to that research for our clients,” says Pinkerton. “So, we were very motivated to protect that research for our clients and other investment firms.”

Pinkerton says W.E. Sherman received three offers from larger firms, although in the end, the company was sold to Pinkerton in a transaction that closed in August, allowing continued access to its research for use by member firms around the country.

He declines to disclose the terms of the acquisition.

“We now have our black box protected at our headquarters,” he says.

He says the new lines of business include transitioning W.E. Sherman & Co.’s The Sherman Sheet report into two services: Portfolio Signals and Turnkey Asset Management Program, also called TAMP.

Portfolio Signals will provide virtually all of the same services offered by W.E. Sherman & Co., while TAMP will offer an additional level of services that will allow investment advisers to delegate trading responsibilities, research, and management to the company.

“That frees them up to work on more profitable activities,” says Pinkerton.

Such services will be offered through the newly created Sherman Portfolios LLC, that will operate under the Sherman Advisor Group.

The Sherman Advisor Group will provide members-only access to investment research, about 20 new portfolio models, business development, and growth opportunities for financial advisers.

Pinkerton says the new programs will roll out Oct. 25 and about 800 current member firms will have until March 26 to sign a new contract to continue accessing services.

Members will pay a minimum fee to join, beginning at $1,000 a month, which is low for the industry, he contends.

Pinkerton says W.E. Sherman’s staff will stay onboard, including former CEO Bill Sherman. Pinkerton says Sherman’s new title currently is undetermined.

Pinkerton Investments Inc. now has 43 total staff members after the acquisition, he adds.

He says of the acquisition, “It’s a win for the Sherman team to continue their jobs as well as a win for our clients and also a win for my friends in the industry who were relying on this research.”