Cetera snags $2.4 billion team from MassMutual

Cetera snags $2.4 billion team from MassMutual
Called Totus Wealth Management, the group had been registered until the end of last month with MML Investors Services, the broker-dealer arm of MassMutual, the insurance company, according to BrokerCheck.
MAY 05, 2021

Cetera Financial Group said on Wednesday it had recruited a large team in Texas with $2.4 billion in wealth management assets.

Called Totus Wealth Management and led by its CEO James Starnes, the group had been registered until the end of last month with MML Investors Services, the broker-dealer arm of MassMutual, the insurance company.

According to BrokerCheck, Starnes is a 20-year veteran of the industry and was registered with MML from March 2017 through last month. He is now registered with Cetera Advisors.

2021 is turning into a red-hot recruiting year for the brokerage industry. More than 4,000 advisers and brokers switched firms in the first quarter of the year, putting 2021 on pace for record industry recruitment activity, according to InvestmentNews research.

Totus is Latin for "the whole or total" and inspires the firm’s approach to client service, Cetera said in a statement. 

Starnes will be joined by a team of six producing financial professionals and four support staff with plans for immediate growth. The firm is located in Houston and has offices in Woodlands, Texas, and plans to expand, the company said.

Last month, Cetera said it had recruited The Advisors, a hybrid team based in Murrysville, Pennsylvania that manages $340 million in assets, from LPL Financial.


Latest News

&Partners lands $838 million Bellevue team from Wells Fargo
&Partners lands $838 million Bellevue team from Wells Fargo

Crown Legacy Wealth joins the fast-growing hybrid RIA as advisor recruitment intensifies across the wirehouse channel.

Osaic pays $9.4 million to settle clients' lawsuit involving illiquid alternatives
Osaic pays $9.4 million to settle clients' lawsuit involving illiquid alternatives

So far, legal settlements involving Jim Walesa since 2021 have cost Osaic about $26.3 million.

HSA participation hits record high, but retirement strategy lags, PSCA finds
HSA participation hits record high, but retirement strategy lags, PSCA finds

New survey data show record contributions and investing gains, even as employer education on retirement use stays limited

Amplify lands Brookwood partnership as RIA data platform push accelerates
Amplify lands Brookwood partnership as RIA data platform push accelerates

Phoenix-based Brookwood Investment Group taps the AI-native wealthtech firm as its advisor count and AUM keep climbing

Financial advisors are wealthier than ever, but are they happier?
Financial advisors are wealthier than ever, but are they happier?

To achieve contentment, advisors should think twice before selling their firms for the biggest dollar amount.

SPONSORED Direct indexing webinar targets tax-loss harvesting amid market swings

Northern Trust’s Ken Lassner shows advisors how to convert volatility into after-tax portfolio gains

SPONSORED Who builds the income when the pension disappears?

Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income