Cetera Financial Group is to acquire Tower Square Securities and Walnut Street Securities from MetLife.
The firms will become part of Cetera Advisor Networks, which specialises in providing local support to advisers through its distinct team structure.
Tower Square and Walnut Street serve advisers via a branch network that is similar to Cetera Advisor Networks’ regional model. Those branches, located throughout the US but mostly in the Midwest and Northeast, will become new independent regions, expanding Cetera’s footprint in those areas.
“With acquisitions we look for quality firms that are a cultural fit, and those where we can offer the greatest benefit to the joining advisers,” says Valerie Brown (pictured), chief executive officer, Cetera Financial Group. “We are excited to welcome them.”
“Tower Square and Walnut Street advisors are a perfect fit for Cetera Advisor Networks,” says Doug King, president and chief executive of Cetera Advisor Networks. “These advisers join a firm of like-minded professionals and get access to the benefits that can only come with our collective scale.”
The new advisers will gain access to Cetera’s wealth management and technology platform, new fee-based financial consulting programmes, and its Connect2Clients and C2CSocial marketing platforms that include consulting to help create individualized marketing plans.
Craig Markham, president of Tower Square and Walnut Street, will join Cetera Advisor Networks as senior vice president of adviser relations. He will oversee the sales and support teams, including the smooth transition of the two firms.
“The entire Cetera organization serves advisers with a commitment to excellence and strong relationships,” says Markham. “They are truly unique in the industry; it is the best of both worlds.”
After close, Cetera Financial Group will serve more than 7,000 advisers and have more than USD130bn in total client assets.
“We are confident that with the sale of Tower Square Securities and Walnut Street Securities to Cetera Advisor Networks, the customers, representatives and managers of these two firms will continue to be served by a high-quality broker-dealer,” says Eric Steigerwalt, executive vice president, MetLife. “This transaction also allows MetLife’s US Retail division to focus its resources on its core distribution relationships, including its affiliated broker-dealer organisation.”
