After 3-year search, advisor-owned IBD bets on scale in PE deal
January 19, 2014 By Tobias Salinger, Financial Planning In a sector that’s increasingly difficult for smaller and midsized players, a financial advisor-owned firm waited years to find a buyer that could keep its culture intact while bringing greater scale. The 500-advisor independent broker-dealer NEXT Financial Group and IBD holding company Atria Wealth Solutions struck a deal that will add to the growing number of private equity-backed companies in the space. NEXT says it will also help the Houston-based firm keep up with its bigger rivals. Before President Barry Knight met Atria Wealth founding partners Doug Ketterer and Eugene Elias for the first time in late 2017 through a mutual acquaintance, NEXT “had about given up hope” on finding a partner, Knight says. The IBD and the Lee Equity Partners-owned firm unveiled their agreement Jan....