Cetera Holdings Acquires Retirement Planning Group
The parent of the Cetera Financial broker/dealer network adds $1.4B RIA; meanwhile, another PE-backed advisory, Mercer Advisors, gets new backing from Altas.
Private equity-owned Cetera Holdings, the parent company of broker/dealer network Cetera Financial Group, announced Tuesday the purchase of $1.4 billion registered investment advisory The Retirement Planning Group LLC. In separate news, Mercer Advisory, also backed by PE investors, welcomed a new strategic investor, Altas Partners LP.
Cetera Holdings is acquiring the Leawood, Kansas-based RIA focused on high-net-worth individuals, families and retirees while overseeing about $1.4 billion in assets under management. Los Angeles-based Cetera did not disclose the amount of the deal, but it announced it will be bringing on 40 employees—including 14 advisers—and 1,825 client accounts.
The deal comes less than a month after the parent company announced that former Fidelity Investments executive Mike Durbin was taking a new role as CEO. The firm said at the time it was bringing on Durbin to expand into “new markets and adjacencies to fuel continued growth and provide more options for advisors.” Durbin had previously been president of Fidelity Institutional, which provided advisers and institutions with third-party product and asset management services.
“This acquisition is synergistic on many levels and represents our commitment to constantly identify and deliver multiple options that give advisors a depth of choice and flexibility to affiliate their business with Cetera as they see fit,” Durbin said in a statement. “To that end, we anticipate close collaboration as we continue to define a new affiliation model through our Wealth Hub that marries the principles of independence with the support and resources of employee services.”
Cetera Holdings, owned by San Francisco-based PE firm Genstar Capital Partners, has been a steady acquirer of independent advisories since its 2018 acquisition. In January, Cetera Holdings acquired the retail wealth business of Securian Financial Group Inc., adding 1,000 financial professionals to its network across 30 independent firms. In April, it announced the addition of Minneapolis-based Rohlik Financial Group.
The Retirement Planning Group is led by CEO Kevin Conard and, in addition to its Kansas headquarters, has offices in St. Louis and Denver. The firm specializes in retirement planning, portfolio management, tax planning, estate planning and wealth management.
“This partnership sets us up for a bright future as we continue to attract advisers seeking to focus more on taking care of their clients and less on the operational aspects of running a business,” Conard said in a statement.
Mercer Gains PE Investor
In separate news, Mercer Advisors, which also has PE funding from Genstar, announced a new strategic investor group that includes Toronto-based Altas Partners.
Denver-based Mercer has about $48 billion in AUM and now has backing from Altas, Genstar, Oak Hill Capital and more than 300 advisers who own equity in the firm. The funding from Altas will go toward continued investment in the firm’s adviser platforms, it announced Tuesday. The transaction is slated to be completed by the third quarter of 2023.
Mercer, which has close to 900 employees overall, is focusing its business on families ranging from mass affluent to ultra-high-net-worth, as well as companies, endowments and foundations.
“We have had an outstanding partnership with Genstar and Oak Hill for many years and chose Altas as our newest strategic investor because they believe in our mission, purpose, and strategy and are committed to support continued investment in capabilities that will allow us to enhance the way we serve our clients,” Dave Welling, CEO of Mercer Advisors, said in a statement.