Cetera Financial Group (commonly referred to as Cetera) is a shared service organization serving affiliates that comprise the second-largest family of independent

broker-dealers 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 ...

in the United States. The company has nearly 8,000

financial advisors 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 ...

, is a leading provider of retail financial services to investment programs of banks and credit unions, and has over $224.5 billion in advisory and brokerage assets under advisement, generating approximately $1.6 billion in annual revenue for the 2016 fiscal year. “Cetera Financial Group” refers to the network of independent retail firms encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors, Cetera Advisor Networks, Cetera Investment Services (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions), Cetera Financial Specialists, First Allied Securities, and Summit Brokerage Services. All firms are members

FINRA The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a private American corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) that regulates member brokerage firms and exchange markets. FINRA is the successor to the National Associat ...

SIPC The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC ) is a federally mandated, non-profit, member-funded, United States corporation created under the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) of 1970 that mandates membership of most US-register ...

. Cetera has corporate offices in El Segundo, California.,

Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, California., San Jose, California, St. Cloud,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

., and Schaumburg,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

History

Cetera was established in February 2010 when

ING Group The ING Group ( nl, ING Groep) 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 ...

sold three broker-dealers, Financial Network Investment Corp., Multi-Financial Securities Corp. and PrimeVest Financial Services Inc., to an investment fund managed by

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 ...

LLC, a private equity firm specializing in

financial services Financial services are the economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, accountancy companie ...

. The firms kept their names, but operated under the new group name Cetera Financial Group. In April 2012 the group purchased Genworth Financial’s broker-dealer and investment adviser firms, Genworth Financial Securities Corp. and Genworth Financial Advisors Corp. On September 4, 2012, Cetera rebranded each of the firms; Financial Network was renamed Cetera Advisor Networks, Multi-Financial became Cetera Advisors, and PrimeVest became Cetera Investment Services (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions). The Genworth firms became Cetera Financial Specialists, the broker-dealer, and Cetera Investment Advisers, the registered investment adviser. RCS Capital Corporation purchased Cetera on April 29, 2014, along with other independent broker-dealer and investment advisors including: First Allied on September 25, 2013.; Investors Capital Holdings Ltd. and Summit Brokerage on June 11, 2014 ; JP Turner on June 13, 2014, Girard Securities on March 18, 2015, and VSR Group on May 12, 2015. On May 25, 2016, Cetera completed a transformation into an independent, privately held organization under parent company, Aretec Group, Inc. Through this restructuring process, a new board of directors was established. On May 11, 2016, Cetera announced the launch of its advisory platform, My Advice Architect, the first segment of the firm’s Advice Architect Ecosystem. In early 2017, Cetera implemented The Advice-Centric Experience, a new strategic blueprint for redefining the delivery of retail financial advice for individuals and families seeking financial well-being. In July 2018, Genstar Capital announced the intention to acquire the majority interest in the Cetera Financial Group. The transaction was completed in October 2018.

Awards

* WealthManagement.com Industry Awards (2017) ** Finalist: Practice Management for Broker-Dealers with 1,000+ Advisors ** Finalist: Technology for Broker-Dealers with 1,000+ Advisors * BISA Technology Awards (2017) ** Won two Bank Insurance & Securities Association Technology Innovation Awards for DOL DynamIQs and Cetera Fastpath programs

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 siteCetera Advisors web siteCetera Advisor Networks web siteCetera Financial Institutions web siteCetera Financial Specialists web siteFirst Allied web siteGirard Securities web siteSummit Brokerage Services web siteCetera Retirement Plan Specialists 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