In April, Advisor Group, one of the largest networks of independent broker/dealers with 11,000 affiliated advisors, announced it would merge its multibrand network into a single entity with a new name. In a livestreamed event on Wednesday, the company announced its new brand would be Osaic, a name executives say reflects the firm’s history as well as its commitment to next-generation advisors and investors.
“This brand pulls together our heritage, our history, our scale, our multiple capabilities and our diversity of thought and background into one beautiful picture,” said Jamie Price, president and CEO, Osaic. “This brand represents our commitment to all the financial professionals we work with today, and everyone we will work with in the future.”
The name was derived from "mosaic," a nod to the firm's past with a number of pieces coming together, said Jen Roche, executive vice president of marketing and communications. But it is also an undefined word to reflect the firm's focus on the future. Company executives made an early decision to go with a name that was not a recognized word or combination of words in favor of a brand that was unique.
Osaic will be rolling its eight broker/dealers, including American Portfolios, FSC Securities, Infinex Investments, Royal Alliance Associates, SagePoint Financial, Securities America, Triad Advisors and Woodbury Financial Services, into the new brand over the next 18 to 24 months. The firm will do this without repapering client accounts.
The merging of the firms follows an organizational realignment, completed earlier this year, into three channels focused on specific business models: independent brokerage services, institutions and RIAs. The RIA channel, which comprises about 25% of Advisor Group’s total assets, is something the firm has been working toward for years.
The company says the unified branding brings a number of benefits to the network’s advisors, including better peer-to-peer connections, better service and support, a unified tech stack without relying on legacy systems, consistent regulatory and compliance policies, and better acquisition opportunities and succession planning across the firm.
Osaic used Sullivan NYC, a New York–based branding agency, to help with the repositioning.
“We’ve built our business for those who believe that wealth management is for everyone and that planning for the future should be transformative, not transactional,” Osaic’s new website says.
Advisors will become part of the newly branded entity and segmented by channel, with a channel manager, relationship management infrastructure and access to shared services around technology, compliance, legal and financial services.
All advisors will be brought onto a shared technology platform the firm is building from scratch, which includes a cloud-based data center and an account opening and maintenance platform called eQuipt, each rolled out in late 2019. New telephone systems are being designed to improve intra-firm communications and a new Salesforce platform will be implemented for day-to-day service requests. API integrations will allow for some customization and let advisors add tools and platforms as they are rolled out, Price said.