Another team is jumping from Osaic to LPL; this time, it’s a New Jersey-based group with 22 advisors and about $1 billion in managed assets.
Founded in 1979 and based in Eatontown, N.J., Investment Advisors Financial Group is led by Thomas E. Musumeci, his daughter Annie Silvestro and James Flannery. In addition to the advisors, the firm includes eight associates and administrative staff.
Musumeci remains president of the firm, and his son Tom is also an advisor. The practice was originally at Royal Alliance before the network of broker/dealers formerly known as Advisor Group rebranded as Osaic in 2023 and began integrating all of its legacy broker/dealers.
According to the team, they desired more autonomy and technology resources, so they landed on LPL.
Musumeci has been in the industry for over 50 years. Silvestro said she had the “privilege” of growing up in the business and observing her father’s relationships with clients.
“My father created a practice where anyone who wanted help creating and building wealth could get it, regardless of the size of their accounts, and we are proud to continue his legacy today,” she said.
In addition to integrating its legacy b/ds, Osaic finalized the acquisition of the $115 billion Lincoln Financial wealth business in May, planning to onboard more than 1,400 advisors. In the wake of this acquisition (along with the change from Advisor Group to Osaic), a number of advisors have left Osaic for other firms, many of which have landed at LPL.
These include Pilot Financial, a large network of 105 advisors with $4.6 billion in managed assets, which opted to move its business to LPL from Lincoln Financial shortly after the deal closed. The N.C.-based business was founded in 2001 and affiliated with Lincoln until the move to LPL.
In February, LPL added the $520 million Wisconsin-based Equity Design Group, previously affiliated with SagePoint (another Advisor Group legacy firm). The North Carolina firm Bice Wealth Management also left Osaic earlier this year, citing an “untenable” situation and alleging the firm prioritized scale at the expense of back-office support for advisors.
Ryan Rayburn also opted to move to LPL Financial after the Lincoln/Osaic deal was announced. Rayburn leads Strategic Wealth Partners, a Dallas-based team with about $860 million in managed assets, a six-member staff and an additional office in Minden, La.
In an interview with WealthManagement.com, Rayburn said he was surprised to receive an email last year about the sale to Osaic. He started his due diligence on Osaic and its competitors and said he landed with LPL because it was unlikely to be purchased.
“We’re going to end up in the not-too-distant future with just a few different places to go to,” he said. “You want to be with one of the bigger players, and you want to be with someone who invests a lot in tech."
