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What’s Next for Atria After Buying Next Financial?

18:54 09 January in In the News by rafferty

January 8, 2018 By Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor As industry watchers compare Atria to Cetera, management insists the firm is focused on bringing the right services to its advisors.   With news Tuesday that Atria Wealth Solutions is buying Next Financial, some industry watchers are wondering what the parent firm will do as a follow-up act. The Next purchase is Atria’s fourth since it was formed in 2017. Once complete, the group should have more than 1,900 independent advisors and about $65 billion in total assets. But Atria — which has the financial support of Lee Equity Partners — insists it wants to forge its own path. “We are not following an acquisition strategy,” said Atria CEO Doug Ketterer in an interview. “We are  building something unique and want to be different in how we serve financial advisors.” While scale is “the...

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What Deutsche Bank Left Off Its List of 30 Market Risks

17:09 07 January in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

January 3, 2019 By Jon Henschen, ThinkAdvisor Ironically, one of the biggest risks to the global economy is Deutsche Bank's own derivatives business. Volatility and risk are of primary concern to advisors and investors in 2019. Deutsche Bank recently chimed in on these issues, releasing what it sees as the 30 primary risks for the New Year: Algo-driven, risk parity-driven fire sale in equities and credit continues Slowing growth in China and Europe slowing down the U.S. economy Slowing growth in China and Europe triggering significant U.S. dollar appreciation Tailing U.S. Treasury auctions and/or declining bid-to-cover ratios Increased U.S. T-bill issuance continues to push 3-month Libor-Overnight Index Saw wider Increased U.S. Treasury issuance pulls dollar out of investment-grade credit and equities Higher hedging costs continue to lower European and Japanese appetite for U.S. credit ...

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Eyes on Kestra: IBDs Are Still in High Demand

17:41 19 December in In the News by rafferty

December 18, 2018 By Diana Britton, WealthManagement   Stone Point may be looking to get out of the IBD business, but there’s still an appetite for such firms, even as the stock market suffers. Private equity firm Stone Point Capital is reportedly looking to offload Kestra Financial, the Austin-based independent broker/dealer it purchased less than three years ago. And while we may be headed for a bear market in stocks, it’s still a bull market for IBDs, industry observers say, especially for firms like Kestra. A couple years ago, there was a lot of noise around diminished demand for independent broker/dealers, especially as the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule was set to take effect. Now that there’s less regulatory uncertainty, firms are focusing more on the future, with a bullish view. “Contrary to speculation a number...

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Kestra BD Sale: Now or Never?

18:03 18 December in In the News by rafferty

December 17, 2018 By Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor   It’s turning out to be a nasty season for sales of equities. But how about broker-dealers? Industry watchers have varying takes on how they see the market for broker-dealers playing out for potential sellers in late 2018 and early 2019. But they agree that the private equity owner of Kestra Financial  — Stone Pointe Capital — is smart to be making a move now. “Stone Pointe … bought it, rebranded it and did great work dressing it up for another sale,” said Tim Welsh, head of the consultancy Nexus Strategy, in an interview. “It looks like the end of the bull market, so if you are gonna sell a financial company, you’ve got to do it now.” A downturn in the stock market, Welsh says, “means valuations are going...