It's Official: Advisor Group to Unite Under One Name 

Advisor Group confirmed on Wednesday that it is indeed shifting its multi-brand network to a single, rebranded entity. But the firm remained mum on what that new brand and name will be.

The company is out to unify the eight wealth management firms that are now part of the Advisor Group broker-dealer network into one to “reduce complexity for financial professionals and position them to take full advantage of the scale Advisor Group offers,” it said in a news release.

More details about its new brand will be announced at its NXT Conference, May 23-25 in Louisville, Kentucky, the firm said.

Then, “later this year, Advisor Group will announce a new name and brand for the unified firm that is being reimagined to reflect the history and traditions of Advisor Group and pave the way for a bold new future for the firm,” it said.

The firm has turned to Sullivan NYC, a New York-based branding agency that Advisor Group noted works with some of the top brands in financial services and technology, to “help guide this branding and positioning effort.”

Each of the eight wealth management firms in the Advisor Group network will roll out the new brand, “one at a time, over the next 18 to 24 months,” the firm added.

The firms comprising Advisor Group include American Portfolios, FSC Securities Corp., Infinex Investments, Royal Alliance Associates, SagePoint Financial, Securities America, Triad Advisors and Woodbury Financial Services.

Early this month, an Advisor Group spokesman wrote in an email to ThinkAdvisor, “As we noted publicly during our ConnectEd Conference last year and recently discussed with our network of advisors, we are considering options to drive greater efficiency and leverage scale to enhance the experience and growth of affiliated financial professionals.

The spokesperson went on to add, “While nothing has been finalized, we’ve made no secret of exploring” consolidation that would bring the eight firms closer together.

“Combining our multiple firms under a single brand will allow us to better serve our financial professionals by offering them access to the full breadth of community and expertise our scale provides without the complexities that multiple legal entities can impose,” Jamie Price, Advisor Group CEO and president, said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Our current business model has been successful to date,” he added, “but as the industry landscape continues to evolve, simultaneously maintaining a series of divergent brands no longer supports a best-in-class experience for our financial professionals or their clients.”

Advisor Group “continues to simplify its business structure through uniform and consistent policies, procedures and technology solutions, in addition to expanding its value-add solutions and offerings,” the firm said.

‘Smooth Transition’ Planned

Advisor Group has grown to serve more than 11,000 independent financial professionals across its eight separate BDs, it said.

“A well-crafted plan has been implemented to ensure a smooth transition of financial professionals’ businesses, with an emphasis on eliminating the need for repapering accounts and maintaining relationships and communities that have been cultivated over time,” the company explained.

“This is not a repapering event,” Price said. “Because the firms are already part of Advisor Group, we can significantly simplify the financial professional and client transitions by eliminating the complexities that occur in a normal transition,” he pointed out.

“Moving into one firm is about making it easier for our financial professionals to conduct business and giving them more value through their connection to each other and to our home office,” he said. “Our goal is to facilitate the most seamless transition possible that will ultimately benefit their businesses.”

When it comes to accounts held with the eight member BDs, including brokerage, direct choice, Wealth Management Platform, and direct business, clients “will not need to sign any new paperwork and their account numbers will not change,” according to the company. However, “accounts held away with some third-party money managers, including TAMPs, will need to follow the procedures of the third parties to transfer,” it said.

“Advisor Group is leveraging its partnership with those parties to work toward a seamless transition.”

The decision to simplify its business structure and operate under one brand “closely follows” its organizational realignment, completed in the first quarter of 2023, into three channels that each serve a specific business model for financial advisors, it said.

(Pictured: Jamie Price, Advisor Group CEO and president)