Cetera Financial Group said it has struck a deal to sell Legend Group, a broker-dealer with about 350 advisors and $6 billion in assets, to Lincoln Investment Capital.
Legend focuses on clients with 403(b) plans—retirement plans for teachers and other non-profit employees. It is based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Terms of the deal were not announced.
"As publicly disclosed earlier this year, our exploration of a potential sale of the Legend Group was guided by our plan to exit businesses that were not core to our future growth plans, combined with our commitment to identify a transaction opportunity with a company that understands and supports the Legend Group's unique strengths in the 403(b) plan space," said Cetera CEO Robert Moore in an interview.
"We expect the transaction to be completed by early-2017," explained Moore, who recently took the helm at Cetera from Larry Roth, now serving as a consultant through year-end.
"These firms know each other well. Though we compete against each other in the industry, we share common values and history—both firms help people retire well," said Lincoln Investment President & CEO Ed Forst, in an interview with ThinkAdvisor.
"Together, Lincoln and Legend are big enough to compete [in the 403(b) space]. We are very excited to welcome the Legend advisors and employees and look forward to it," Forst said.
The clients of Legend Group will not have to move accounts or "repaper," he explained, because the assets will remain custodied at Pershing.
