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. As of December 31, 2022, Cetera oversees approximately $322 billion in assets under administration and $115 billion in

assets under management In finance, assets under management (AUM), sometimes called fund under management, refers to the total market value of all financial assets that a financial institution—such as a mutual fund, venture capital firm, or depository institutio ...

, 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 San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, El Segundo, and Walnut Creek, California; Greenwood Village, Colorado; Atlanta, Georgia; Schaumburg,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

; and St. Cloud,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Cetera’s firms are members of

FINRA The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a private American corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) that financial regulation, regulates member brokerage firms and exchange (organized market), exchange markets. ...

and SIPC.

History

Cetera was established in February 2010 when Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation

ING Group ING Group N.V. () is a Dutch multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, whol ...

sold three broker-dealers to private equity firm

Lightyear Capital Lightyear Capital is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in financial services companies. The firm, which is based in New York City, was founded in 2002 with the backing of UBS AG by Donald Marron. M ...

. 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. That same year, Cetera purchased the tax and accountant-focused Genworth Financial Investment Services and rebranded it as Cetera Financial Specialists. In April 2014, RCS Capital Corporation purchased Cetera among its acquisitions of other independent broker dealers and registered investment advisers, including First Allied Securities in September 2013; 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. In May 2016, Cetera completed a transformation into an independent, privately held organization under its parent company, Aretec Group, Inc. Through this restructuring process, a new board of directors 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. In July 2018, Genstar Capital announced its intention to acquire the majority interest in the Cetera Financial Group. The transaction was completed in October 2018. 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.

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. 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. 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.

Legal

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.

References

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External links

Cetera web site
Financial services companies established in 2010 Investment management companies of the United States Financial services companies of the United States Privately held companies based in California 2010 establishments in California