Cetera completes acquisition of Protective Life subsidiary CFGS

Cetera has just completed another major step in its inorganic expansion strategy.

On Wednesday, Cetera Financial Group announced it finalized its acquisition of Concourse Financial Group Securities, a subsidiary of Protective Life Corporation.

The deal, which closed on February 20, adds approximately 350 financial professionals overseeing more than $12 billion in assets under administration and $4 billion in assets under management to the Cetera Wealth Partners network.

Cetera previously disclosed its plans to snap up CFGS in October.

With the completion of the transaction, Concourse Securities professionals gain access to Cetera’s resources, technology, and support infrastructure.

“We are pleased to successfully close this important acquisition with high asset retention exceeding our target, and we welcome the Concourse team to Cetera, where they can keep growing as part of the Cetera Wealth Partners community,” Mike Durbin, CEO of Cetera, said in a statement Wednesday.

The acquisition of the hybrid RIA aligns with Cetera’s strategy of expanding through mergers and acquisitions. In recent years, the firm has acquired multiple wealth management businesses from insurance companies, including Securian Financial Group’s retail wealth business in 2023 and Voya Financial Advisors’ independent financial planning channel in 2021.

Another sign of the insurance industry's broad retreat from the investment advisory business came in July last year, when KKR announced an agreement to acquire Janney Montgomery Scott, which employes more than 900 financial advisors overseeing north of $150 billion in assets, from Penn Mutual.

Libet Anderson, president of Concourse Financial Group Securities, noted that Cetera’s infrastructure and community-based model provide a strong foundation for continued growth. “Cetera has the size, scale and sophistication to support our growth goals, and their community architecture gives us a strong sense of belonging and optimism,” she said.

Aside from relinquishing CFGS, Protective Life sold Concourse Financial Group Agency, its MGA arm focused on life insurance, annuities, and long-term care insurance, to Simplicity.

“These transactions also allow Protective to focus on our core competencies as an insurance provider and continue growing our business,” Aaron Seurkamp, senior vice president and president of Protective’s protection and retirement division, said in a separate statement Wednesday.