Cetera Financial Group

Last updated
Cetera Financial Group Inc
Company type Private. [1]
Industry Financial services
Founded2010 [2]
Headquarters655 W. Broadway, 12th Floor
San Diego, CA 92101
Key people
Adam Antoniades, CEO
Jeff Buchheister, CFO
Tom Gooley, COO
Revenue US$$2.7 billion as of December 31, 2022 [3]
Number of employees
1,832 (2022) [4]
Website www.cetera.com

Cetera Financial Group (commonly referred to as Cetera) is an independent wealth hub and financial services provider comprising, among other companies, one of the largest families of independent registered investment advisers and broker-dealers in the United States. As such, Cetera provides financial advisors, tax professionals, and financial institutions with market and investment research, client-service platforms and technologies, trade execution and portfolio management services, and back-office support. [5]

Contents

As of December 31, 2022, Cetera oversees approximately $322 billion in assets under administration and $115 billion in assets under management, serving over 8,000 independent financial professionals and 400 banks and credit unions, representing 1.8 million investors. Cetera has corporate offices throughout the United States, including San Diego, El Segundo, and Walnut Creek, California; Greenwood Village, Colorado; Atlanta, Georgia; Schaumburg, Illinois; and St. Cloud, Minnesota. [6] [7]

Cetera’s firms are members of FINRA and SIPC.

History

Cetera was established in February 2010 when Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation ING Group sold three broker-dealers to private equity firm Lightyear Capital. The three broker-dealers—Financial Network Investment Corporation, founded in 1983, Multi-Financial Securities Corporation, founded in 1981, and PrimeVest Financial Services founded in 1984—were rebranded in September 2012, becoming Cetera Advisor Networks, Cetera Advisors, and Cetera Investment Services (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions and Cetera Investors), respectively. [8] [9] That same year, Cetera purchased the tax and accountant-focused Genworth Financial Investment Services and rebranded it as Cetera Financial Specialists. [10] [11] [12]

In April 2014, RCS Capital Corporation purchased Cetera [13] among its acquisitions of other independent broker dealers and registered investment advisers, including First Allied Securities in September 2013; [14] Investors Capital Holdings Ltd., and Summit Brokerage Services, and JP Turner & Company in June 2014; Girard Securities in March 2015 and VSR Group in May 2015. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]

In May 2016, Cetera completed a transformation into an independent, privately held organization under its parent company, Aretec Group, Inc. [20] [21] Through this restructuring process, a new board of directors [22] was established.

In May 2017, Cetera announced the launch of its advisory platform, My Advice Architect. The platform has since grown to host more than $100 billion in assets. [23]

In July 2018, Genstar Capital announced its intention to acquire the majority interest in the Cetera Financial Group. [24] The transaction was completed in October 2018. [25]

In May 2023, Mike Durbin was named chief executive officer of Cetera Holdings, the holding company of Cetera Financial Group, and a member of Cetera’s board of directors. [26]

Mergers and Acquisitions

In April 2019, Cetera completed the purchase of select assets of Foresters Financial’s U.S. broker-dealer and investment advisory business, rebranding it and the 43 branches it comprises as Cetera Investors. [27]

In June 2021, Cetera completed the acquisition of assets related to Voya Financial Advisors’ independent financial planning channel. The new business was branded Cetera Wealth Partners. [28]

In January 2023, Cetera entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the retail wealth business of Securian Financial Group, Inc. The new community will be rebranded as Cetera Wealth Management Group, a region within Cetera Advisor Networks. [29]

In December 2020, Cetera Advisor Networks, Cetera Advisors, and Cetera Financial Specialists agreed to pay the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) a $1 million fine following allegations that the firms had failed to supervise their dually registered representatives. [30]

Related Research Articles

In financial services, a broker-dealer is a natural person, company or other organization that engages in the business of trading securities for its own account or on behalf of its customers. Broker-dealers are at the heart of the securities and derivatives trading process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foresters Financial</span> North American fraternal order

The Independent Order of Foresters, operating as Foresters Financial, is a fraternal benefit society headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that provides life insurance and other financial solutions in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As of 2022, Louis Gagnon has served as the company's president and CEO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genworth Financial</span> American insurance company

Genworth Financial, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, provides life insurance, long-term care insurance, mortgage insurance, and annuities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Securities Investor Protection Corporation</span> American financial non-profit

The Securities Investor Protection Corporation is a federally mandated, non-profit, member-funded, United States government corporation created under the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) of 1970 that mandates membership of most US-registered broker-dealers. Although created by federal legislation and overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the SIPC is neither a government agency nor a regulator of broker-dealers. The purpose of the SIPC is to expedite the recovery and return of missing customer cash and assets during the liquidation of a failed investment firm.

Raymond James Financial, Inc. is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company providing financial services to individuals, corporations, and municipalities through its subsidiary companies that engage primarily in investment and financial planning, in addition to investment banking and asset management. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, Raymond James is one of the largest banking institutions in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ameriprise Financial</span> American financial services company

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. is an American diversified financial services company and bank holding company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It provides financial planning products and services, including wealth management, asset management, insurance, annuities, and estate planning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial adviser</span> Professional who renders financial services to clients

A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory body in order to provide advice.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. was founded in 1989 and is considered the largest independent broker-dealer in the United States. As of 2021 the company had more than 17,500 financial advisors, over US$1 trillion in advisory and brokerage assets, and generated approximately $5.9 billion in annual revenue for the 2020 fiscal year.

Firstrade Securities is a stockbrokerage firm and broker-dealer headquartered in Flushing, New York that offers an electronic trading platform to trade financial assets including stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETF), options, mutual funds, and bonds.

A registered investment adviser (RIA) is a firm that is an investment adviser in the United States, registered as such with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or a state's securities agency. The numerous references to RIAs within the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 popularized the term, which is closely associated with the term investment adviser. An investment adviser is defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission as an individual or a firm that is in the business of giving advice about securities. However, an RIA is the actual firm, while the employees of the firm are called Investment Adviser Representatives (IARs).

Robertson Stephens is a wealth management firm serving high net worth individuals and family offices. The firm is registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment advisor.

PTI Securities & Futures is a money management, securities and discount brokerage firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Peoria, Arizona. Established in 1991, PTI Securities provides investors, fund managers and pension funds in the United States with investment consulting services.

Altegris is an alternative investment firm headquartered in San Diego.

Setter Capital is a Canadian independent investment bank primarily focused on the private equity secondary market, providing fund acquisition, non-strategic asset disposal, investor liquidity management and optimization and market validation advisory services between some of the world’s largest institutional investors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Schorsch</span> American businessman

Nicholas Sloan "Nick" Schorsch (born March 2, 1961) is an American millionaire entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. Schorsch is the chairman, CEO, and co-founder of the investment services firm VEREIT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwestern Mutual</span> American financial services company

Northwestern Mutual is an American financial services mutual organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The financial security company provides consultation on wealth and asset income protection, education planning, retirement planning, investment advisory services, Financial Planning trust and private client services, estate planning and business planning. Its products include life insurance, permanent life insurance, disability income, and long-term care insurance; annuities; investments; and investment advisory products and services. Northwestern Mutual ranked No. 90 on the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue and is in the top 30 by assets held. The firm distributes a portion of its earnings to eligible policyholders as annual dividends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eaton Partners</span>

Eaton Partners is a global placement agent that assists in raising capital for funds managed by some of the largest private equity firms, hedge funds, real assets and real estate funds in the world. The firm is also one of the oldest placement agents in the private funds industry. Eaton Partners raises capital primarily from institutional investors including private and public pension funds, endowment funds, family offices, fund of funds, foundations and other large pools of money that invest in alternative asset classes.

Envestnet, Inc. is an American financial technology corporation which develops and distributes wealth management software and products to financial advisors and institutions. The company's main product is an advisory platform that integrates the services and software used by financial advisors in wealth management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CI Financial</span> Largest investment management firm by assets under management in Canada

CI Financial is a Canadian investment management company based in Toronto, Ontario. It offers investment management and wealth management services targeted to high net worth retail investors, as well as brokerage and trading services to portfolio managers and institutional investors.

AcreTrader is an American real estate investment company specializing in farmland. The company aims to increase investor access to real assets while providing capital to farmers and growers to expand their businesses. AcreTrader operates through its two main business segments: AcreTrader Financial, LLC, a licensed broker-dealer registered with FINRA, and Acres.com. AcreTrader also manages funds on behalf of institutional clients across permanent crops, row crops, and timber assets.

References

  1. ↑ "Private Company". Bloomberg News .
  2. ↑ "Founded 2010". Bloomberg News .
  3. ↑ "Total Revenue". 3 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "Total Employees".
  5. ↑ "In a Shift, Cetera to Gather Its BDs at '18 National Conference | ThinkAdvisor". ThinkAdvisor. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  6. ↑ "Member Regulation | FINRA.org". www.finra.org. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  7. ↑ Corporation, Securities Investor Protection. "SIPC - Search". www.sipc.org. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  8. ↑ Goff, John (7 February 2010). "Lightyear wraps up purchase of B-Ds, re-brands as Cetera". www.investmentnews.com. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  9. ↑ "ING Sells Three B/Ds | ThinkAdvisor". ThinkAdvisor. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  10. ↑ "Cetera Acquires Genworth, Rounds Out Business Mix". Wealth Management. 2012-01-09. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  11. ↑ "Cetera's Rebranding: A Savvy Move?". 4 September 2012.
  12. ↑ "Cetera's Rebranding: A Savvy Move?". Wealth Management. 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  13. ↑ Driebusch, Corrie (2014-01-16). "RCS Capital to Acquire Cetera Financial for $1.15 Billion". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  14. ↑ "First Allied to Be Acquired by RCAP". Financial Planning. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  15. ↑ "First Allied to Be Acquired by RCAP". Financial Planning. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  16. ↑ "Investors Capital to be sold for $52.2m - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  17. ↑ Kelly, Bruce (10 January 2014). "Schorsch snaps up Summit for $49M". www.investmentnews.com. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  18. ↑ "Cetera Financial Group To Add Girard Securities". www.fa-mag.com. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  19. ↑ "He's At It Again: Schorsch Scoops Up VSR Financial". Wealth Management. 2014-08-06. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  20. ↑ Brickley, Peg (2016-03-28). "Cetera Financial Files for Bankruptcy to Complete RCS Workout". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  21. ↑ "Cetera Out of Bankruptcy". Wealth Management. 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  22. ↑ "Cetera Completes Board of Directors". www.fa-mag.com. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  23. ↑ "Cetera Works With Envestnet to Unify Advisor and Client Technology". Wealth Management. 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  24. ↑ Iacurci, Greg (17 July 2018). "Genstar Capital buys majority stake in Cetera Financial Group". www.investmentnews.com. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  25. ↑ "Cetera builds out recruiting team, advisor support after Genstar deal". Financial Planning. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  26. ↑ Cetera Adds Ex-Fidelity Executive as New CEO of Its Holding Company Barron's (newspaper)
  27. ↑ "Cetera to Acquire Assets of Foresters' Brokerage and Advisory Business". The DI Wire. 10 April 2019.
  28. ↑ "Cetera Wraps Up Purchase of Voya Unit". Think Advisor. 10 June 2021.
  29. ↑ "Cetera to Buy Securian Financial's Retail Wealth Business". Wealth Management. 25 January 2023.
  30. ↑ "Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent Agreement" (PDF). brokercheck.org. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.