Kevin Beard, head of recruiting at AIG Advisor Group, resigns

Kevin Beard, the veteran head of recruiting and acquisitions for Royal Alliance Associates Inc. and the AIG Advisor Group, has resigned to pursue a new venture. Mr. Beard's departure comes more than two months after American International Group Inc. announced the sale of the AIG Advisor Group to private-equity firm Lightyear Capital and Canadian pension manager PSP Investments. That deal is supposed to close in the coming months. “It was my decision. I am pursuing another opportunity,” Mr. Beard said in an interview Tuesday, adding that he could not comment on his new venture. “It had nothing to do with Lightyear. I have the greatest respect for what they're doing, and I think they will be very successful.” According to his LinkedIn page, Mr. Beard had two positions at the broker-dealer network: he was executive vice president at the AIG Advisor Group and senior vice president at Royal Alliance. It was not clear who will assume Mr. Beard's responsibilities as top recruiter and head of mergers and acquisitions at the AIG Advisor Group. A spokeswoman for Lightyear Capital, Janet Reinhardt, said that the company couldn't comment. Last Thursday, Erica McGinnis, the CEO of the AIG Advisor Group, sent a memo to advisers and personnel about Mr. Beard's resignation. Mr. Beard “has decided to leave the firm to pursue other opportunities,” according to a source who did not want to be identified but who read the note to an InvestmentNews reporter. In the memo, Ms. McGinnis also thanked Mr. Beard for his role in building the company's growth, the source said. The AIG Advisor Group is one of the nation's largest networks of independent broker-dealers with more than 5,200 independent registered reps and advisers at four firms and $160 billion in client assets.