Moore’s Exit Raises Deeper Questions at Cetera
February 20, 2019 By Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor Cetera Financial Group’s news that CEO Robert “RJ” Moore is stepping down for health reasons is raising lots of questions from industry insiders. The development comes less than four months after the private-equity firm Genstar Capital acquired a majority stake in Cetera, which has more than 7,000 affiliated independent advisors, and a series of changes and much-publicized issues in recent years. “They have weathered so many storms, and it seemed like they finally had bluer skies ahead. Now there’s another storm,” said industry consultant Jeff Nash, CEO of Bridgemark Strategies. Industry consultants and recruiters are asking what’s next for leadership, as well as for retention and recruiting at the group of independent broker-dealers. According to the independent broker-dealer group, Moore does not have a terminal illness. Chairman Ben Brigeman will...