Cetera continued to bulk up the independent broker/dealer space this week by adding a 34-person team overseeing $1.8 billion in client assets that had been with insurer Northwestern Mutual’s investment services group.
Seattle-based Pillar Financial Group and its seven partners will now operate in the Cetera network, with BNY Pershing for custody. CEO Luke Madsen, who had been with Northwestern over 21 years, according to BrokerCheck, will continue leading the firm that works with individuals, families, and small businesses.
“We wanted a firm we could grow with, and Cetera’s leadership team not only shares our vision but has the scale and focus on technology to support our growth for the long term,” he said.
Madsen added that many large broker/dealers are “navigating mergers and acquisitions,” whereas at Cetera, the team will get “the personalized attention we need to focus on our clients. For us, that was the deciding factor.”
LPL Financial is currently in the process of integrating Commonwealth Financial Advisors onto its network after acquiring the broker/dealer earlier this year in a $2.7 billion deal.
The Northwestern Mutual team’s move to Cetera is another sign of the independent broker/dealer sector continuing to win advisors even as the registered investment advisor space continues to get the headlines. According to a recent report by Cerrulli Associates, the IBD channel now accounts for nearly one-fifth of all financial advisor headcount and 16% of industry assets, leading other channels in year-over-year growth.
Pillar Financial has offices in Washington, Idaho, and Illinois and plans to continue growing through acquisitions and recruiting.
The firm’s money management includes $500 million in employer-sponsored retirement plan assets, showing another trend among IBDs seeking to play in the institutional space and potentially sync it to individual wealth management.
Madsen said Cetera’s platform supports numerous capabilities, including estate planning, alternative investments, and tax planning. He also noted its ability to provide succession opportunities for senior advisors looking to wind down and junior advisors wanting long-term careers.
“Pillar is a place where younger advisors can learn, grow, and ultimately become partners,” he said. “We also believe we are a perfect destination for advisors in the twilight of their careers and have built our firm to provide the resources clients expect from advisors that always have the support they need.”
Last week, Cetera announced that a Commonwealth team of over $1 billion in assets chose to join the firm in the wake of the LPL acquisition. The broker/dealer forecast that it expects more such deals after it started offering custody services with Fidelity Investments’ NFS available to Commonwealth advisors, many of whom used that custodian.
