Another insurance company is getting out of the independent broker/dealer business. Lincoln National Corp. has signed an agreement to sell its wealth management unit to Osaic, the network of broker/dealers formally known as Advisor Group, for $700 million.
The unit consists of broker/dealers Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation and Lincoln Financial Securities Corporation, each with a corporate RIA.
The deal, expected to close in the first half of 2024, will add about 1,450 advisors and $108 billion in total assets to Osaic’s network, including some $71 billion in assets under advisement and $38 billion in assets under management.
According to Osaic’s announcement, Lincoln Wealth’s businesses will join as stand-alone entities, with the leadership team, led by David Berkowitz, and employees remaining intact. But the businesses will be integrated into Osaic over time, as the firm has been doing with its existing broker/dealers. Advisors will not have to do any repapering nor will there be a change to account numbers, the firm said.
“Lincoln Wealth will soon assimilate into Osaic as part of ‘Journey to One,’ along with our other firms, which will allow them to benefit from our scale and the investments we’ve made in our advisors,” Osaic CEO Jamie Price said in a statement. “The holistic approach to wealth management championed by Lincoln Wealth leadership and advisors mirrors our approach and we aim to build upon that strong foundation.”
In September, Advisor Group, one of the largest networks of independent broker/dealers with over 10,500 affiliated advisors, announced it would merge its multibrand network into a single entity with a new name, Osaic.
Bloomberg recently reported that Reverence Capital Partners, which owns a majority stake in Osaic, is seeking buyers for a minority stake in the network of wealth management firms. Reverence is looking to sell up to 20% of Osaic, a stake that could be worth as much as $2.5 billion, according to the publication.
The deal is the latest example of a multi-year trend of insurance companies shedding their brokerage businesses. Many insurance companies have sold off their wealth businesses over the years, including Jackson National, Securian Financial Group, Voya Financial, and MetLife, to name a few.
