Securities America Picks Up Two Groups With $3.5B

By Janet Levaux

February 14, 2018 at 01:08 PM

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Securities America, a unit of Ladenburg Thalmann, has added group of independent financial advisors with $2 billion in client assets and a super office of supervisory jurisdiction with $1.5 billion in client assets to its platform.

Both groups have more than 30 advisors and formerly worked with NPH broker-dealers, the assets of which were acquired by LPL Financial in August.

The first is based on the East Coast, and Mike Rees of Bay View Capital Advisory Group in St. Petersburg, Florida, serves as its OSJ. The second is co-managed by Brenda Wille-Cope and Gary Stirk and includes branches in Colorado, Arizona, Washington and New York.

"Not every broker-dealer can provide the type of onboarding these large groups require, said Gregg Johnson, Securities America executive vice president of branch office development and acquisitions, in a statement. "We're experienced at welcoming large groups of independent advisors, especially highly independent ones."

"We wanted this to be the last broker-dealer change of our careers, so, picking the right partner was critical," said David Blaydes, founder and CEO of RPI Financial Life Planners, who works with Rees, in a press release. "We knew we needed an outstanding corporate culture, our choice of platforms and investment solutions, and efficient technology that would allow us to spend more time with our clients."

The second group moving to Securities America is a Denver-based super OSJ, which spent about six weeks and spoke with 10 broker-dealers before deciding on Securities America, according to the firm.

"We wanted a broker-dealer who shared that passion for retirement distribution. We know retirement income is a core strength of Securities America. This made them a very strong fit," said Wille-Cope, a managing partner of First Financial Strategies, in a statement.

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