Erica McGinnis stepping down as CEO of Advisor Group

Erica McGinnis is stepping down from her role as president and chief executive officer of Advisor Group, three months after American International Group Inc. completed the sale of the brokerage network to Lightyear Capital, according to a memo obtained by InvestmentNews.

While a search is under way for a replacement, executive chairman Valerie Brown will act as interim CEO and president, according to the memo.

Ms. McGinnis and the board of Advisor Group agreed that now is “the right time” for her to take on a new role as executive vice president and head of transitions to assist the firm’s separation from AIG, according to the memo.

In an emailed statement, Kevin Dinino, a spokesman for the Advisor Group, said that Ms. Brown “will work closely with Erica on various transition-related activities” as the firm seeks a new chief executive.

In January, AIG said it was selling Advisor Group to private-equity firm Lightyear Capital and Canadian pension investment manager PSP Investments. The sale was completed in May.

Advisor Group, with $160 billion in client assets, changed owners amid increasing regulatory scrutiny of the brokerage industry. At the time of the agreement, Lightyear said it was turning to Ms. Brown — the former CEO of Cetera — to fill the position of chairman.

The Advisor Group network consists of four broker-dealers: FSC Securities Corp., Royal Alliance Associates Inc., SagePoint Financial Inc. and Woodbury Financial Services Inc.

Ms. McGinnis was named president and CEO of Advisor Group in 2013 after serving as chief compliance officer, according to a company statement at the time. Before joining the firm in 2004 as director of branch exams, Ms. McGinnis managed operations, training and compliance efforts at Charles Schwab Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and Ameriprise Financial Inc.

“As president and CEO, Erica has contributed immeasurably to Advisor Group, and on behalf of the board and management team we sincerely thank her for her tireless efforts toward building the business that we have today,” Mr. Dinino said in the emailed statement.

He said her new role will utilize her “deep understanding of the business” to position the firm for success as an independent brokerage firm.

Its new owner, Lightyear Capital, specializes in financial services, while the private-equity firm’s founder and chairman, Donald Marron, has a long history in the broker-dealer business. Mr. Marron was the chairman and CEO of brokerage firm PaineWebber for 20 years before its merger with UBS Group AG in 2000, according to Lightyear’s website.

Lightyear bought independent broker-dealer Cetera in 2010, hiring Ms. Brown as CEO and building the business in part through acquisitions. After the firm sold Cetera to Nicholas Schorsch’s RCS Capital Corp. in 2014, Larry Roth replaced Ms. Brown as chief executive.

In January, Mr. Marron said Advisor Group would look to make acquisitions while adding new investment products and services for its network of more than 5,200 independent advisers.

Ms. McGinnis and Mr. Marron didn’t immediately return phone calls seeking comment on the change in leadership.

Related Topics: American International Group (AIG)