For the second time in less than two years, mid-sized independent broker-dealer Realta Equities has changed its leadership, with industry compliance veteran Eizabeth “Liz” Legacy becoming the interim CEO this month of the firm, which recently renamed itself from Coastal Equities.
Legacy in mid-February replaced Kevin Keefe, another industry veteran who started working at Realta in April 2023. A 21-year securities industry executive, Keefe, who has worked at LPL Financial and a variety of other broker-dealers in the past, is not currently registered with a securities firm.
Keefe left the firm 14 months after the name change occurred in January 2024. The name, Realta, was inspired by the Celtic word for star, according to a press release at the time.
It's not clear why Keefe left Realta.
“Kevin Keefe is no longer part of Realta Wealth," according to a statement from a firm spokesperson. "For the near future, Larry Roth, chairman of Realta’s Advisory Board, will work closely with our leadership team to optimize the firm’s capabilities and capture opportunities that empower our advisors to attract and serve affluent clients."
"Realta is committed to creating a first-class wealth management platform to support our advisors and their customers," according to the Realta statement.
It’s unusual for a firm as large as Realta to make an unannounced change in leadership. Financial advisors and home office personnel crave stability, and changes in leadership at broker-dealers or registered investment advisors typically take months to prepare for and are carefully introduced.
“When there’s a name change at a firm, it’s usually because something has happened, though I have no firsthand knowledge about this instance,” said a senior industry executive who spoke private to InvestmentNews about Realta Equities. “Think back to troubled days of AIG during the credit crisis and the broker-dealers it owned. AIG Financial Advisors’ name was changed to SagePoint during the credit crisis.”
Keefe did not respond Thursday afternoon to a request to comment about his leaving Realta via LinkedIn.
Prior to Keefe, the firm’s CEO was Charles Rieling, who left in 2023 and is currently chief legal officer at Trade-PMR Inc.
With 22 years in the securities industry, Legacy has been a senior compliance executive at a variety of firms, including LPL Financial and Commonwealth Financial Network.
Realta Equities and Realta Investment Advisors Inc., the RIA, are both based in Wilmington, Delaware. The RIA has close to $800 million in client assts, according to its Form ADV.
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