iTP Partners launches $3.5 billion RIA on Cetera's Blueprint

Cetera notched a key win for its RIA channel Tuesday as it announced that a multibillion-dollar practice, led by two seasoned advisors, has joined its platform to launch a new independent registered investment adviser on the East Coast.

Coming from Osaic, iTP Partners brings approximately $3.5 billion in assets under advisement and nearly 50 financial advisors as it launches a new independent RIA, Blue Horizon Equity, within Cetera's RIA platform.

iTP is led by managing directors Bob Sansone and Jeff Hartman, who co-founded the firm's growth model around advisor equity ownership. The firm operates from a headquarters in Pittsford, New York, and a second office in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, with a nationally dispersed advisor base.

Blue Horizon Equity will run on Cetera's Blueprint platform and keep its existing custody relationship with Pershing.

Why iTP chose Cetera

Sansone said the firm evaluated multiple broker-dealers before selecting Cetera, whiich he said won out because of its "willingness to adjust to the needs at hand so things stay flexible as we move along."

Hartman said the decision also came down to accessibility at the leadership level. "From day one, we've had people to work with; it's already a partnership with real people we can reach whenever we need them, and that says a lot about Cetera," he said.

Andina Anderson, who stepped in as head of Blueprint from Envestnet last year, said the platform was built to support that kind of transition.

"Blueprint is a collaboration that gives iTP the infrastructure to scale on their own terms, backed by the technology, resources, service and support of Cetera overall," Anderson said. "We're proud that iTP chose Cetera as its partner to help them write their next growth chapter."

Part of a broader RIA push at Cetera

The iTP deal comes as Cetera builds out its RIA and Branches division under president Jennifer Hanau. Last week, the unit recruited two executives from Primerica and Raymond James as community leaders for Cetera Investors and RIA Network, a Blueprint-powered platform built for independent RIAs.

Before that, Cetera consolidated two of its planning-focused RIA businesses into a nearly $19 billion division earlier this year as part of what industry consultants describe as a broader RIA consolidation playbook among broker-dealers.

Cetera Wealth Management president Todd Mackay said in a statement: "Bob and Jeff have spent decades proving that building a firm the right way – anchored by relationships, advisor ownership, and a genuine culture of service – is how to create lasting value. iTP is exactly the kind of firm Cetera was built to serve because they're sophisticated, growth-oriented, and deeply committed to the advisors and clients who make it what it is."

Hartman said iTP is already in active conversations with advisors in several regions and plans further recruiting. "The RIA model is the future of our industry. At iTP, we have created a home where an advisor can participate in the benefits of our model – including real ownership through equity – without having to do all the work of building it from scratch," Sansone said. "That's a powerful value proposition, and Cetera's Blueprint platform amplifies it."

Cetera claims to have achieved a 98.4% advisor retention rate, which the firm attributes to its relationship-based service model, even as its CEO Mike Durbin acknowledged high recruiting costs across the independent advisor market.