Robert Moore returns to advice business to lead giant LPL branch

Robert Moore returns to advice business to lead giant LPL branch
The shift in management is not a sign that New Jersey-based Private Advisor Group is for sale, owner says
NOV 18, 2020

Robert "RJ" Moore, a senior executive for more than a decade in the independent broker-dealer industry, is returning to the financial advice business after a 1½-year absence to become CEO of Private Advisor Group, the largest office on the platform of LPL Financial with $21 billion in client assets.

Patrick Sullivan and John Hyland are co-founders and now managing directors of Morristown, New Jersey-based Private Advisor Group, which has 650 advisers in its network. Moore will also acquire a "significant" equity stake in the enterprise, Private Advisor Group said in a statement, but it did not release the terms of that agreement.

Moore, an industry veteran, has been in the middle of two of the most consequential transactions of the past ten years in the independent broker-dealer business. To be clear, he is not an employee of LPL but working as the head of a branch that uses LPL for its back office and varied brokerage services.

Moore was chief financial officer of LPL in 2010 when it listed its initial public stock offering, and he was CEO of Cetera Financial Network, which had only recently emerged from bankruptcy, when it was sold to Genstar Capital in 2018.

Both transactions involved firms with thousands of reps and advisers under their roofs. Moore left Cetera in February 2019 due to unspecified health reasons. He then ran a firm that invested in real estate investment trusts.

The wealth management business is literally awash in cash from private equity investors and bankers looking to buy practices, particularly giants like Private Advisor Group. But Moore's joining the firm should not be mistaken as a sign that the firm is looking to sell, Hyland said in an interview Wednesday morning.

"We have absolutely no plans to sell Private Advisor Group," Hyland said, adding that he and Sullivan had been seeking a new CEO for almost a year before deciding on Moore, a long-term confidant. "It's not on our radar. This is really about growing the firm for the future."

"The outlook for me is to take over the CEO role and make an immediate impact on Private Advisor Group as a destination of choice for financial advisers during this period of wide industry consolidation," Moore said in the same interview. "I have certainly not been brought in to engineer a quick transaction. That is not the thinking here at all."

Moore added that his health had improved and he was in a position to fully focus on the firm's advisers and growth.

Meanwhile, Hyland, who in the past has been public about his fight with cancer, has recently been battling health issues. In August, he was diagnosed with throat cancer; he finished treatment about a month ago.

"My doctors are very optimistic," Hyland said. "It’s been a rough road, but I believe it’s going to be OK."

Latest News

RIA moves: True North adds $353M California RIA as SageView grows North Carolina presence
RIA moves: True North adds $353M California RIA as SageView grows North Carolina presence

Plus, a $400 million Commonwealth team departs to launch an independent family-run RIA in the East Bay area.

Blue Owl Capital, Voya strike private market partnership for retirement plans
Blue Owl Capital, Voya strike private market partnership for retirement plans

The collaboration will focus initially on strategies within collective investment trusts in DC plans, with plans to expand to other retirement-focused private investment solutions.

Top Commonwealth advisor to recruiters: Stop with the cold calls already!
Top Commonwealth advisor to recruiters: Stop with the cold calls already!

“I respectfully request that all recruiters for other BDs discontinue their efforts to contact me," writes Thomas Bartholomew.

Why AI notetakers alone can't fix 'broken' advisor meetings
Why AI notetakers alone can't fix 'broken' advisor meetings

Wealth tech veteran Aaron Klein speaks out against the "misery" of client meetings, why advisors' communication skills don't always help, and AI's potential to make bad meetings "100 times better."

Morgan Stanley, Goldman, Wells Fargo to settle Archegos trades lawsuit
Morgan Stanley, Goldman, Wells Fargo to settle Archegos trades lawsuit

The proposed $120 million settlement would close the book on a legal challenge alleging the Wall Street banks failed to disclose crucial conflicts of interest to investors.

SPONSORED How advisors can build for high-net-worth complexity

Orion's Tom Wilson on delivering coordinated, high-touch service in a world where returns alone no longer set you apart.

SPONSORED RILAs bring stability, growth during volatile markets

Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.