Cetera Acquires Independent Broker Dealers

Cetera Financial Group announced today the completion of its acquisition of MetLife’s two independent broker dealer firms, Tower Square Securities and Walnut Street Securities.

Cetera now serves approximately 7,400 advisers with more than $141 billion in total client assets, including more than $33 billion in fee-based advisory assets.

“We are excited to be given the opportunity to serve these advisers. Helping them deepen their relationships with their clients and grow their practices is at the core of what we do,” said Valerie Brown, Cetera’s chief executive officer. “This acquisition will also be a win for our current advisers, as we benefit from the expertise that Tower Square and Walnut Street have in the retirement and insurance markets.”

Tower Square and Walnut Street will join one of Cetera’s four firms, Cetera Advisor Networks. According to Cetera, its team-based, regional structure offers a strong cultural fit to advisers from Tower Square and Walnut Street, who operate within a similar regional structure. Their advisers are located throughout the country, and will expand Cetera’s footprint in the Midwest and Northeast.

“We’ve begun building personal connections with these advisers, and are impressed with how well they fit the culture of this firm,” said Doug King, president and CEO of Cetera Advisor Networks. “We look forward to the new ideas that this group brings to the firm.”

The new advisers will gain access to Cetera’s comprehensive broker dealer and registered investment adviser resources including its award-winning wealth management and technology platform, new fee-based financial consulting programs, and its Connect2Clients and C2CSocial marketing platforms, which include consulting to help create individualized marketing plans.

Cetera Financial Group is an independent broker-dealer and investment adviser family of firms.

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