There’s been an ongoing trend of broker-dealers expanding their presence within the RIA space and another big name is making its move. Cetera Financial Group, a leading broker-dealer in the nation for producing representatives, has acquired Retirement Planning Group, an RIA based out of Kansas.

This marks Cetera’s first acquisition of a pure RIA and signifies the firm’s desire to increase its affiliation options for advisors, allowing advisors more freedom to associate their business with Cetera in a manner that best suits their needs.  

Cetera is venturing into the RIA space in a big way as Retirement Planning Group holds $1.4 billion in AUM, with 1,825 client accounts. Of that $1.4 billion in AUM, $1.15 billion is attributed to 547 high-net-worth clients, according to its most recent Form ADV. 

The deal comes less than a month after Cetera’s parent company, Cetera Holdings, announced former Fidelity Investments executive Mike Durbin as the new CEO. Durbin was brought in to help expand into new markets, fueling growth and providing more options for advisors. The acquisition of Retirement Planning Group is just the start of the firm developing a new affiliation model through their Wealth Hub, which combines the core values of independence with the support and resources of employee services. More and more broker-dealers are venturing into the RIA space to help attract advisors that are looking for a place where they can focus more of their time and efforts on their clients and less on practice management and operational responsibilities of running a business.

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