1,400 advisors on the move as Advisor Group merges 3 IBDs into Securities America
May 15, 2020 By Tobias Salinger, Financial Planning A deal that reshaped the independent broker-dealer sector is realigning thousands of financial advisors in its wake. After two credit downgrades and a pledge by its CEO to fold Ladenburg Thalmann into its structure, Advisor Group is merging three of the IBDs it acquired earlier this year for $1.3 billion into the largest one of the ex-Ladenburg network. By consolidating Investacorp, Securities Service Network and KMS Financial Services into Securities America, the Phoenix-based firm will more quickly deploy technology and other services for the 4,400 financial advisors affiliated with the current crop of five IBDs, CEO Jamie Price said in an interview. Price rejects any connection between the impact of the coronavirus on Advisor Group’s business and the decision to integrate the firms. At the same time,...