LPL nabs $320M duo from Centaurus Financial

A pair of advisors who managed $320 million in assets at Centaurus Financial joined LPL Financial and will use its broker-dealer, RIA and custodial platforms, the firm announced Monday.

Latus Group was founded in 2009 by David Segarra, a former police officer who switched careers after becoming interested in trading and investments. Segarra, who serves as the firm’s president, has 18 years of experience, according to his BrokerCheck report, and had been affiliated with Centaurus since 2008.

The firm’s other advisor, Sean Sullivan, joined in 2018, and serves as vice president of client relations. Latus Group’s three staff members, Ashley Heaton, Denise Magana and Sage Newman, are also making the move to LPL.

Segarra and Sullivan were looking for ways to grow their business and improve the experience they provide clients, and cited LPL’s technology platform as one of the reasons for their move.

“When you peel back the layers, LPL is dedicated to staying up to date in the industry and reinvesting in innovation,” Segarra said in a statement. “LPL has a wealth of technological solutions such as single sign-on, centralized access and an integrated platform that enables us to use our current tools for our clients.”

Sullivan pointed to LPL’s retirement plan consulting program, or RPCP.

“Since Covid, we have seen a lot of legislation like the SECURE Act 2.0 that complicates retirement accounts, so we must work with a partner who has a deep understanding of the industry,” he said. “The RPCP was very important to us, as was LPL’s dedicated business unit that supports us. We have a better ability to service clients.”