B-Ds: 2010 In Review
Barnaby Grist leaves his position as senior managing director of strategic business development at The Charles Schwab Corp. to become executive vice president of wealth management at Cetera Financial Group, a new brokerage venture controlled by Lightyear Capital LLC. The private-equity firm headed by former Paine Webber Group Inc. CEO Donald Marron closes its acquisition of three ING Groep NV broker-dealers and creates Cetera to house them.
Lawrence Taunt, chairman of Regal Financial Group, SagePoint Financial Inc.'s largest branch, resigns from the AIG Advisor Group broker-dealer, renamed The Advisor Group, to join American Portfolios Financial Services Inc. He expects most of Regal's 100 reps to join him. The split is precipitated by SagePoint's interference with Regal's intention to form its own broker-dealer, Mr. Taunt said.
The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. places Oren Eugene Sullivan under interim suspension, keeping the former NYLife Securities LLC rep from using its designation. The board begins its proceedings only after learning that South Carolina revoked Mr. Sullivan's insurance license in May 2009 and Finra barred him from the securities industry in August 2009 for allegedly misappropriating $3.7 million from 35 clients.
Insurers Transamerica Life Insurance Co. and Western Reserve Life Assurance Company of Ohio file suit against broker-dealers LifeMark Securities Corp., Fortune Financial Services Inc. and The Leaders Group Inc., accusing them of fraudulently selling to third parties variable annuities with lucrative death benefits on terminally ill individuals. In June, a federal judge rules that Rhode Island's insurable-interest laws don't apply to annuities, at least in this case. On Oct. 4, LifeMark and Leaders countersue the insurers for damages and attorney's fees, accusing them of negligence.