Acquisition of the Norcross, Georgia employee benefits firm expands Nichols Cauley's ability to help clients manage risk across their business and workforce
ATLANTA, GA — Nichols Cauley, a financial services company dedicated to small and midsized businesses, today announced it acquired A.A. LaRocco & Associates, d/b/a The LaRocco Companies ("LaRocco"), a privately owned employee benefits brokerage and advisory firm headquartered in Norcross, Georgia.
Owned and led by brothers Andrew and Jeffrey LaRocco, the firm has spent 46 years focused exclusively on employee benefits — designing, administering, and managing benefits programs for employers across Metro Atlanta and the broader Georgia market.
Nichols Cauley's innovative platform is supported by a strategic investment from Madison Dearborn Partners, a leading private equity firm based in Chicago. The company's combination with Partners Risk Services in January 2026 established a strong Risk & Insurance Services business, and the addition of LaRocco further expands the depth and specialization of the Employee Benefits service line.
Employee benefits represent an increasingly complex area of risk and opportunity for business owners, requiring specialized knowledge across plan design, administration, employee communications, carrier relationships, and regulatory compliance. Over the past 46 years, LaRocco has built a level of expertise that is difficult to replicate, particularly for small and midsized businesses.
This acquisition advances Nichols Cauley's strategy of equipping business owners with the integrated capabilities, services, and support they need to manage, protect, and grow their businesses.
"Nichols Cauley is grounded in a practical understanding of how businesses create value, manage risk, and make decisions," said Alan Whitman, CEO of Nichols Cauley. "LaRocco brings deep expertise in an area that is critically important to business owners: how they attract talent and support their people while navigating the complexity and cost of employee benefits. Together, we help clients take a more holistic view of their business and workforce to support long-term success."
"We chose Nichols Cauley because we share a commitment to helping business owners succeed," said Andrew LaRocco, Co-Owner of The LaRocco Companies. "Together, we can help clients take better care of their people, navigate complexity, and make more confident decisions about their business and their future."
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About Nichols Cauley
About Nichols Cauley Nichols Cauley is a financial services company that serves business owners differently and more effectively by applying a practical understanding of how businesses operate: how they create value, where risk resides, and how decisions intersect. Our coordinated platform brings together accounting services, transaction advisory services, and risk and insurance services so decisions reflect the full reality of a business today and tomorrow. The result is confidence in the path forward.
Nichols Cauley is the brand name under which Nichols Cauley & Associates, LLC, Nichols Cauley Advisory Group, LLC, Nichols Cauley Transactions Group, LLC and Partners Risk Services, LLC and subsidiaries thereof deliver professional services. The Nichols Cauley companies practice under an alternative practice structure in accordance with the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and applicable law, regulations and professional standards. Nichols Cauley & Associates, LLC, is a licensed independent CPA firm that provides attest services. Nichols Cauley Advisory Group, LLC, Nichols Cauley Transactions Group, LLC, Partners Risk Services, LLC and subsidiaries provide business advisory, tax, and other non-attest services to their clients and are not licensed CPA firms.
For more information, visit nicholscauley.com.
About The LaRocco Companies
A.A. LaRocco & Associates, d/b/a The LaRocco Companies ("LaRocco") is a privately owned employee benefits brokerage and advisory firm headquartered in Norcross, Georgia. Since 1980, the firm has focused exclusively on helping employers design, administer, and manage employee benefits programs, including health insurance, voluntary benefits, and compliance support for regulations such as COBRA, HIPAA, and ERISA. Over the past 46 years, LaRocco has built deep expertise in employee benefits and established a strong presence in Metro Atlanta and throughout Georgia. For more information, visit aalarocco.com.
About Madison Dearborn Partners
Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC ("MDP") is a leading private equity investment firm based in Chicago. Since MDP's formation in 1992, the firm has raised aggregate capital of more than $36 billion and has completed over 160 platform investments. MDP actively invests across three dedicated industry verticals, including financial services, healthcare, and technology & government. Drawing on deep industry and operational expertise, MDP works closely with management teams to drive value creation and operational improvement across its portfolio. For more information, please visit www.mdcp.com.
