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Author: rafferty

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As Cetera Splits From RCAP, Will Its Advisors Split, Too?

23:38 05 January in In the News by rafferty

January 5, 2015 By Janet Levaux   Industry observers say the spinoff could make Cetera more attractive to buyers down the road Some 9,000 independent advisors affiliated with the Cetera Financial Group, along with plenty of industry watchers, are digesting the news that the firm is being separated from its troubled parent company, RCS Capital (RCAP) – which on Monday announced plans to file for bankruptcy and restructure its operations. “For sure, some of the Cetera advisors must be stunned,” said Mark Elzweig, a New York-based executive search consultant, in an interview with ThinkAdvisor. “I have to believe that many of these advisors were expecting a private-equity group … waiting in the wings, based on the latest industry rumors.” RCAP said Monday, however, that it is set to receive a $150 million capital infusion. Plus, Cetera intends...

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With IBD Business Model Threatened, Who Wants to Buy One?

19:27 17 December in In the News by rafferty

December 17, 2015 By Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor With talk of the possible sale of the AIG Advisor Group and Cetera, insiders share their views on the state of indie brokerage business As billionaire investor Carl Icahn pressures AIG to break up its different parts, speculation continues as to which firm might purchase the AIG Advisor Group, which includes the independent broker-dealers FSC Securities, Royal Alliance, SagePoint Financial and Woodbury Financial. Meanwhile, the Cetera Financial Group of IBDs, which Lightyear Capital sold to now-troubled RCS Capital for $1.15 billion in 2014, appears to be on the auction block as well. But does buying a group of IBDs make sense in the current economic and regulatory climate? “I think the traditional IBD model is under threat,” said Chip Roame, head of the consultancy Tiburon Strategic Advisors, in...

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John Hancock’s IBD Looks to Cut More Deals Next Year

16:13 15 December in In the News by rafferty

December 15, 2015 By Murray Coleman, Financial Advisor IQ   As more insurance companies move away from acting as independent broker-dealers to focus on core financial products, one big industry name going in the opposite direction is John Hancock Financial. Executives of Hancock’s independent broker-dealer, Signator Investors, say they see the coming year as an opportunity to pump up mergers and acquisitions in wealth-management. “We expect consolidation in the independent IBD marketplace to continue into 2016,” says Brian Heapps, John Hancock Financial’s president. As more big carriers look to refocus on insurance, he adds, “we’ll be looking with an opportunistic eye on expanding our presence with advisors across the U.S.” Hancock rebranded its IBD two years ago to separate itself from the firm’s largely proprietary and insurance-based platform. Along those lines, the 1,500-strong network of independent advisors last month agreed...