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Cetera Acquires Genworth, Rounds Out Business Mix

16:20 09 January in In the News by rafferty

by Diana Britton and featured in Registered Rep, January 9, 2012 Cetera Financial Group announced plans Monday to acquire Genworth Financial’s broker/dealer, Genworth Financial Investment Services (GFIS), expanding its network of broker/dealers. The move will add around 1,800 financial advisors who focus on tax and accounting services to the 5,000 already divided between Cetera’s three broker/dealers Multi-Financial , Financial Network and PrimeVest Financial. The GFIS acquisition is expected to close in 90 days. According to Genworth Financial’s web site, Cetera Financial paid $78.5 million for the broker-dealer. There is also an earnout provision based on the broker-dealer hitting revenue goals over a one-year period. Genworth expects to record a $15 million after-tax gain related to the sale of the broker-dealer. Cetera is in growth mode. Last month, the firm's Multi-Financial announced a recruiting...

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Finding the Right Safety Net

17:36 06 January in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

January 2012 by Jonathan Henschen and featured in Investment Advisor 2010 was the year of going nowhere. 2011 was much better. What does 2012 hold for broker-dealer recruiting? When changing broker-dealer, transition time is typically brief—only one or two months. Yet often, Financial Advisors place the weight of the world on this early part of the relationship, the "honeymoon period." They are enticed by what appears to be a sweet offer, and end up making a compromise that undoes their reasons for making the change in the first place. That compromise is usually in the form of upfront transition money. Upfront Transition Money Doesn't Always Pay Off Making the right choice when switching to a new broker-dealer is crucial in terms of retaining clients during the transition. We encourage our clients to set their...

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Insurer-owned indie B-Ds going the way of VHS?

18:04 02 January in In the News by rafferty

December 30, 2011 by Bruce Kelly, Investment News Once the dominant player in the industry, carriers seeing reps exit; consolidation puts squeeze on Independent broker-dealers owned by insurance companies, once the dominant players of the industry, will continue to dwindle in size and importance over the coming decade, unable to keep pace with more nimble competitors that invest in, and increase, investment advisory services for reps. That's the assessment of some industry executives. To underscore that point, one leading group of advisers formerly affiliated withTower Square Securities Inc., which is owned by insurance giant MetLife Inc., left several months ago to work with a leading broker-dealer for fee-based registered reps, Cambridge Investment Research Inc. In total, 87 registered reps — including some support-staff members with securities licenses — who produce more than $10 million in gross revenue,...

Broker-Dealer Pacific West to Close Its Doors

17:11 09 December in In the News by rafferty

December 6, 2011 by Jon Sullivan and featured on AdvisorOne Multi-Financial Securities signs recruiting agreement for Pacific West reps In a further sign of economic and legal trouble for the independent broker-dealer space, Pacific West Financial Group, based in Renton, Wash., announced it was discontinuing operations. The firm also said it has entered into an agreement with Denver-based Multi-Financial Securities Corp., to “bring over select advisors from Pacific West and facilitate a seamless transition experience for the advisors and their clients.” The agreement is subject to FINRA approval. “We have been evaluating for some time, from an ownership perspective, how much sense it makes to continue,” said Tony Pizelo, Pacific West’s CEO, in an interview. “The business is calling for independent firms to take on greater and greater risk, but the reward is not in...