Multi-Financial Comes Out of Hiding With Big Growth Plans
by Diana Britton and featured in Registered Rep April, 2011: Independent broker-dealer Multi-Financial is undergoing a major growth initiative, ramping up its recruiting, wealth management platform capabilities and practice management services, said President and CEO Brett Harrison. Recruiting is already up 900 percent from last year, and the firm has brought on $9 million in production in the past five months, and plans to add $20 million in total production this year. Under the IBD’s former parent, ING, Multi-Financial stayed under the radar, Harrison said. At ING, the firm was not encouraged to do much advertising and marketing. “We’ve been quiet for years.” In November 2009, Lightyear Capital announced its plan to purchase the three broker/dealers—Multi-Financial, Financial Network and PrimeVest Financial—from insurance company ING and renamed the group Cetera Financial Group. Under the new...