Close Close
Sign In
Newsletters
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
Podcast Center Video Center Webcasts Resource Center Events
About ThinkAdvisor Contact Us Advertise With Us Asset & Logo Licensing Sitemap Terms of Service Privacy Policy Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ThinkAdvisor

Industry Spotlight > Mergers and Acquisitions

Cetera Takes Minority Stake in $1.7B Firm

By Jeff Berman

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

What You Need to Know

  • Prosperity Advisors is the latest RIA that Cetera has invested in through its minority stake program.
  • Cetera says its minority investment strategy lets it diversify and hedge against market uncertainty while helping its affiliates grow.
  • In October, Cetera completed a minority investment in CCR Wealth Management.

Cetera Financial Group made a strategic, minority investment in Overland Park, Kansas based advisory firm Prosperity Advisors, Cetera said Thursday.

Prosperity Advisors has $1.7 billion in assets, including assets under management and assets under advisement, Cetera said.

Prosperity has been affiliated with Cetera, a broker-dealer and RIA, since 2004 and is led by Paul Ewing, a certified financial planner and registered advisor and broker, according to his report on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s BrokerCheck website.

Ewing founded Prosperity Advisory Group in 1989 and has worked in the financial services industry since 1980. He is also a member of the Advisors Panel for the Insured Retirement Institute.

Prosperity has more than 60 staff members in four locations: Overland Park; Akron and Toledo, Ohio; and Carmel, Indiana.

The investment “represents the next step in the evolution of the firms’ partnership,” Cetera said in a news release. “Cetera has helped drive considerable asset growth for Prosperity Advisors since its affiliation with Cetera Advisors, LLC in 1999, and aims to accelerate growth and success through this investment,” it said.

Cetera didn’t say how much it paid for the stake or what percent ownership it now has in Prosperity.

“Paul and his team are a shining example of the industry’s best independent, client-first practices, and we are proud to partner to achieve long-term growth and success,” Adam Antoniades, Cetera CEO, said in a statement.

“These investments put Cetera’s skin in the game to help practices grow in ways that are most meaningful and important to each advisor and their business,” he added. “We look forward to more of these selective investments as we continue to serve as a wealth hub to our valued advisors.”

Partner Practice Program

The investment is the latest Cetera has made in recent months as part of its partner practice program, which provides select advisors the option to have Cetera invest in a minority stake in their firm and uses “agile, proprietary growth solutions and technology to grow their business,” Cetera said.

In October, Cetera completed a minority investment in CCR Wealth Management, which manages $2.5 billion in assets. The investment was intended to help CCR Wealth Management accelerate it business growth, Cetera said.

The investments in Prosperity and CCR “diversify and position Cetera for growth, hedging the impact of market volatility and economic uncertainty,” according to Cetera.

Cetera is also teaming with advisors to offer a suite of succession solutions, including advisor-to-advisor support, business continuity solutions and practice monetization, it noted.

Recent examples of the latter include: In early 2022, father-son-led team Costanzo Financial Group, managing over $500 million for clients and affiliated with Cetera Advisors for 20 years, approached Cetera looking to preserve their independence as the father neared retirement.

Cetera acquired Costanzo Financial in March, preserving its business structure and relationship with Cetera while enhancing firm operations and growth potential, Cetera said.

In January 2021, Cetera acquired financial services firm BAR Financial, which managed almost $4 billion in assets on Cetera’s My Advice Architect advisory platform.

In March 2021, Cetera acquired financial services firm MAGIS, an RIA focused on providing financial planning and holistic advice to more than 350 households. “The ownership change was designed to fuel additional growth for the firm, which manages approximately $500 million for clients,” Cetera said.

Cetera’s 8,000 financial professionals and their teams oversaw about $322 billion in AUA and $115 billion in AUM as of Dec. 31, it said.

Jeff Berman

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.