RCS Capital Reveals Latest Saviors; Lightyear-AIG Deal Talk Grows

In 2014, Lightyear Capital sold Cetera to RCAP’s major stakeholder at the time, Nicholas Schorsch, who — after a series of scandals at the company and other firms he founded — is no longer involved in its management.

It has been widely speculated in the financial press that Lightyear is interested in buying the AIG Advisor Group, though AIG and Lightyear both declined to comment on the matter.

“I heard [Thursday] from a Woodbury rep who heard this from his regional vice president, ‘Lightyear Capital is the buyer of the AIG BDs, and the lawyers are working out the details,’ ” said recruiter Jon Henschen in an interview with ThinkAdvisor. “Plus, I’ve been told Valerie Brown [who used to lead Cetera] will likely be the new head of the Advisor Group … which would be exciting.”

For Henschen and others in the field, “These developments could lead to some interesting recruiting wars, which would incentivize people like me to get reps from these firms,” he said.

Last month, according to Henschen, advisors affiliated with Woodbury were told that “attractive offers” had been made by several private-equity firm.

— Related on ThinkAdvisor:

• As Cetera Splits From RCAP, Will Its Advisors Split, Too?
• 4 Factors That May Cause a Flood of Broker-Dealer Sales

RCS Capital (RCAP) has shared more details on how it is restructuring itself and enabling the Cetera Financial Group of independent broker-dealers to become a separate entity.