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Author: rafferty

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Broker/Dealers Speak Out on Regulatory Vexation

16:41 11 December in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

December 9, 2019 By Jon Henschen, WealthManagement.com Working in recruiting, the growth segment of financial services, it has always baffled me that FINRA can dictate the number of advisors that small and midsized broker dealers can bring on in a given year.  Imagine a broker/dealer being able to allot the amount of assets financial advisors can bring on in a given year, as if the broker/dealer knows better what the advisor can handle in asset growth. Even more perplexing is the fact that large broker/dealers have no restriction on mergers, acquisitions, branch offices or rep count, while small and midsized firms have restrictions on all of these. FINRA can use growth allotment as a weapon to penalize a firm, as one recruiter colleague of mine can attest. This recruiter called me for help in...

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Cetera Taps Antoniades as CEO

21:30 04 December in In the News by rafferty

December 3, 2019 By Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor Cetera Financial Group has a new CEO: Adam Antoniades, who’s served as its president since 2014. Antoniades took the leadership torch from interim CEO Ben Brigeman, who remains chairperson, on Tuesday. Antoniades will now serve on Cetera’s board and lead its member broker-dealers — First Allied Securities (which he founded), Cetera Advisors, Cetera Advisor Networks, Cetera Investment Services/Cetera Financial Institutions and Cetera Financial Specialists. The group says it has about 7,500 affiliated independent advisors and about $240 billion in client assets. The new chief executive takes over some nine months after then-CEO Robert “RJ” Moore stepped down from the position and about a year since the private-equity firm Genstar Capital acquired a majority stake in Cetera for $1.7 billion. When Moore gave up the job, Genstar and Cetera...

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Atria Scoops Up IBD With Turnkey Model

16:36 23 November in In the News by rafferty

November 21, 2019 By Diana Britton, WealthManagement.com The firm will acquire Western International Securities, adding 400 advisors and a new affiliation model. Atria Wealth Solutions announced plans Thursday to acquire Western International Securities, a Pasadena, Calif.-based independent broker/dealer with over 400 advisors and $13 billion in client assets under administration. The deal, expected to close in the first quarter 2020, would bring Atria’s total network to nearly 2,500 advisors and $80 billion in assets. Western International Securities would be Atria’s fifth IBD acquisition since it was launched in August 2017 by former Morgan Stanley executive Doug Ketterer. He initially launched into the financial institutions channel with the acquisition of sister b/ds CUSO Financial Services and Sorrento Pacific Financial, both based in San Diego. They have a combined $30 billion in assets under administration and 500 advisors at...