Cetera Financial Group has added the second LPL executive to its senior management team since its parent emerged from bankruptcy in May. Jeffrey Buchheister, former chief accounting officer and executive vice president at LPL, will serve as Cetera’s chief financial officer, a newly created position. Matthew Audette, LPL’s chief financial officer, will take over Buchheister’s chief accounting officer responsibilities, the firm said.
“Mr. Buchheister’s decision is not the result of any disagreement with the company regarding the company’s financial reporting or accounting policies, procedures, estimates or judgments,” LPL said, in an SEC filing.
Robert Moore, former LPL president, joined Cetera in May as non-executive chairman of the board.
Prior to LPL, Buchheister served as a senior manager at Deloitte.
“Jeff’s experience at Deloitte and LPL make him an ideal candidate because he, of course, understands the accounting aspect of our business, but he also understands financial analysis and our operating environment,” said Larry Roth, CEO of Cetera.
Buchheister’s appointment comes at the heels of Cetera gaining its independence from former parent company RCS Capital. After its long march through bankruptcy and reorganization, RCS was renamed Aretec, or Cetera spelled backwards. It now stands as a private company with $150 million in fresh capital, a healthy balance sheet and a sole focus on Cetera Financial Group as its only operating entity.
Buchheister and Moore, who also serves as CEO of Legal & General Investment Management America, were selected separately for their roles at Cetera by independent consulting firms.