Risk Strategies merges with specialty broker DeWitt Stern

Boston-based broker and risk management consultant Risk Strategies Co. Inc. has merged with privately-held, New York-based broker and risk advisor DeWitt Stern Group Inc., the companies said in a statement Wednesday.

The newly-combined entity will have annual revenues of nearly $100 million as well as roughly 400 employees nationwide, said the statement.

Risk Strategies ranked 52nd on this year’s Business Insurance list of 100 largest brokers of U.S. business, with more than 260 employees in 12 offices specializing in higher education, real estate, environmental, professional liability, private equity, construction and healthcare, said the statement.

DeWitt Stern has a long-standing specialty in covering entertainment, fine art, private client, benefits and risk management, including insuring Albert Einstein’s violin and Carnegie Hall, according to the statement.

Jolyon Stern will continue as chairman of DeWitt Stern and be appointed vice chairman of the board of Risk Strategies joining Michael Christian and Chairman Roger Egan.

Risk Strategies will retain the DeWitt Stern name, and the existing management teams of both firms will remain in place. Further terms of the deal were not disclosed, said the statement.

“DeWitt Stern is an iconic name in insurance, and we’re honored to have Jolyon Stern and his team join our firm. They bring strategic significance in burgeoning growth areas, including entertainment, private client personal lines, fine arts, and real estate,” Risk Strategies founder and CEO Michael Christian said in the statement.