Flushing Bank, which has 20 financial advisors and about $225 million in client brokerage assets, has joined Cetera Financial Institutions from Infinex Financial Group.
CFI, Cetera Financial Group’s broker/dealer that exclusively supports banks and credit unions, now has a total of 450 institutions on its platform, and that number has grown rapidly this year.
“This has been a banner year for us in successful recruiting,” said LeAnn Rummel, president of CFI. “And this has really been the result of our turnaround story—not only here at Institutions but the broader group at Cetera Financial Group. Obviously, we’ve been tested and have come out stronger than ever before. And not only Flushing Bank, but many financial institutions are looking for partners that know how to persevere and succeed in adverse conditions.”
In March, Hawaii-based American Savings Bank moved its wealth management business to CFI. And last month, Cathay Bank, which previously left Cetera Financial Group for LPL Financial while Cetera was restructuring after parting ways with its former owner, returned to CFI.
“Through some of the change and disruption, it certainly has opened up a lot of doors for us,” Rummel said.
Flushing Bank provides financial planning, retirement, insurance and investment management services, with a specific focus on millennial retail investors. One of the bank’s strategic initiatives is to grow its wealth management program’s share of wallet across its existing client base.
Rummel said the bank was attracted to the fact that CFI was a larger firm that brought great resources but still maintained a sense of community and a boutique service culture.