Wentworth Management Services buys World Equity Group

Broker-dealer M&A activity continues as 2018 draws to a close, with Wentworth Management Services on Friday announcing its acquisition of World Equity Group, a midsized independent broker-dealer outside Chicago with close to 180 brokers and nearly $40 million in annual revenue. It was the second acquisition of a midsized broker-dealer in less than two weeks. On November 27, Baird said it agreed to acquire Hilliard Lyons, bringing together two established regional brokerage firms. Terms of the World Equity Group acquisition were not announced. Wentworth Management Services is a holding company that buys and manages businesses in the wealth management industry. It expects to make additional "roll-up announcements" next year, according to a press release announcing the latest deal. This is the third broker-dealer acquisition for Wentworth Management Services. A year ago, the company acquired Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, a boutique firm that specializes in the securities business for brokers who become fee-based financial advisers. And earlier, it had bought Cabot Lodge Securities. One of World Equity Group's founders, Robert Yarosz wanted to retire, so the broker-dealer was looking for "a partner that provided the opportunity to retain and grow the team and business," said Richard Babjak, another founder of the firm and its president, in the press release. Mr. Babjak will remain at World Equity Group as a senior member of the management team and also will become a shareholder in Wentworth. This year has been fairly active for broker-dealer M&A. In September, Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America announced it was getting out of the retail brokerage business. Brokers with Questar Capital Corp., the former Allianz IBD, moved their securities registration to Woodbury Financial Services, one of the four broker-dealers in the Advisor Group network. Questar had more than 600 brokers and advisers. The most prominent broker-dealer acquisition happened over the summer when Cetera Financial Group, a network of six independent broker-dealers with about 8,000 brokers and advisers, said in July that Genstar Capital would buy a majority equity stake in the company.