LPL snags $850 million Securian team in wake of Cetera deal

Mike Clements and Jason Strasser of Financial Design Group

Toledo, Ohio-based Financial Design Group has 14 advisors. Over the winter, recruiters had cited LPL as one of the firms likely to target Securian advisors.

LPL Financial said Monday that it has recruited a team of 14 financial advisors called the Financial Design Group with $850 million in client assets that was formerly registered with Securian Financial Services Inc.

Toledo, Ohio-based Financial Design Group’s move to LPL Financial comes after Cetera Financial Group said in January it was buying the wealth business of insurer Securian Financial Group, which includes more than 1,000 advisors who oversee $24.8 billion in assets under management and $47.4 billion in assets under administration. The broker-dealer market always looks for moves from individual financial advisors and teams after a significant transaction, and over the winter, some recruiters cited LPL as one firm likely to target the Securian advisors.

A spokesperson for Cetera, a network of independent broker-dealers that works with 8,000 financial advisors, did not return a call to comment Tuesday morning.

Financial Design Group, which was founded in 1995 and is led by partners Mike Clements and Jason Strasser, will use LPL Financial’s broker-dealer, corporate registered investment advisor and custodial platforms, LPL said in a statement.

According to BrokerCheck, Clements had been registered with Securian Financial Services Inc. since 2004 before moving to LPL in the middle of last month; Strasser had been registered at the Securian broker-dealer since 2011.

Financial Design Group’s assets are a combination of advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets, LPL said.