Cetera Financial announced Thursday morning that Megent Financial, a Chicago-based team with $640 million in client assets, has joined Cetera Advisors from LPL Financial. The news comes just a few weeks after Cetera CEO Robert “RJ” Moore said he would step down from his role, due to health reasons.
Megent, which includes a team of 20, specializes in serving unionized workers. It also has a division focused on advanced planning strategies. The firm is led by Managing Directors Eric Burton and Ron Whittingham. The firm’s client assets have grown by 156 percent since 2012.
In an interview with WealthManagement.com prior to announcing his departure, Moore said the firm had flat growth last year, but so far this year, the firm is growing on a net basis. Cetera has been attracting some large teams this year from competitors. Recently, Dan Levy, president, CEO and founder of independent b/d North Ridge Wealth Planning, shuttered the b/d and joined Cetera Advisor Networks as an office of supervisory jurisdiction, bringing $2.5 billion in client assets onto the platform.
“Cetera is thrilled to commence a new chapter with an organization that understands and fits the advice-centric culture so well,” the firm said in a statement. “Cetera plans to continue attracting individual advisors, tax professionals, banks and credit unions and regional teams (OSJs) with a mindset of growth, innovation and enhancing the delivery of an Advice-Centric Experience.”
Cetera recently became the first enterprise client of AdvicePay, Michael Kitces and Alan Moore's pay-for-service platform, built for RIAs.
