Cetera to sell broker-dealer that focuses on retirement plans for teachers

As expected, the Cetera Financial Group on Wednesday announced the sale of the assets, including 350 advisers, operating under the broker-dealer holding company Legend Group Holdings. Lincoln Investment Capital Holdings, the parent company of another broker-dealer that also focuses on 403(b) retirement plans, will acquire the Legend advisers, who control $6 billion in assets. Such retirement savings plans are typically available to employees of public education and non-profit organizations. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close by early next year, were not released. Lincoln Investment Planning will have about 1,100 advisers under its roof once the deal is closed. The firm had 784 producing advisers at the end of last year who generated $223.7 million in revenue and had $23.7 billion in client assets, according to the most recent InvestmentNews survey of independent broker-dealers. Legend Equities Corp. did not complete a survey. Former nontraded real estate investment trust czar Nicholas Schorsch owned Cetera's former parent, RCS Capital Corp., and rapidly built the network in 2013 and 2014. Saddled with debt from that expansion, RCS Capital landed in bankruptcy this January. Mr. Schorsch no longer is involved with Cetera. Cetera Financial emerged in May from a pre-packaged bankruptcy and has been consolidating some of its broker-dealers since. At the time, Cetera said it was likely to sell Legend Equities Corp. The sale of the Legend broker-dealer is the only sale so far of a Cetera firm. Cetera Financial will not follow this sale of a broker-dealers with others, said Robert Moore, CEO. Cetera is “not planning for any other divestitures in near future,” he said. “We feel good about this transaction. Lincoln is a great partner and we wish the group well going forward,” he said, adding that Cetera will continue to focus on helping advisers and institutions deliver wealth management solutions for their clients on a full service basis. “This was a great way to gain size and help us compete with anybody out there in the independent space,” said Ed Forst, president and CEO of Lincoln Investment Capital Holdings. After moving to Lincoln, the Legend advisers will continue to use that brand and the group's headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., will continue to operate as part of Lincoln, the companies said in a statement.