Nyhart Actuary & Employee Benefits has established its first office on the West Coast with its latest acquisition.

Nyhart will add 15 employees by acquiring San Diego-based Epler Co., a regional actuarial, employee benefits and compensation-strategies firm. Nyhart now has 100 employees, with 70 of those at its headquarters in Indianapolis.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Epler will operate under its own name with its current management team before eventually taking the Nyhart name after an undisclosed time.

The deal gives Nyhart new expertise on employee compensation, which it hopes will help bolster its pension plan business for private, church and public plans. Nyhart serves plans with $15 billion or more in assets, providing fund analysis, advisory services on employee compensation and retirement benefits, and actuarial work on health care issues. It also performs administrative functions for pension plans.

“We are excited to establish a permanent presence on the West Coast while adding seasoned expertise to our team,” said Nyhart CEO Thomas Totten in a prepared statement.

It is the third acquisition Nyhart has made in the last two years. In December 2010, Nyhart acquired a Kansas City-based retirement administration group that was part of the Alliance Benefit Group North Central States. And, in June 2011, Nyhart bought Stanley, Holcombe & Associates, a government-focused pension practice in Atlanta.