Commonwealth Financial Network is adding a Pennsylvania-based firm with $881 million in assets after a stint at Securian Financial spanning more than three decades.
The move comes several months after Cetera swept up Securian's retail wealth business.
Foundations Financial Partners is based out of Doylestown, Pa., and includes President and Managing Partner Christopher Hackley, Partner and Senior Advisor Keith Tomer, Client Services Director Roark Gover, as well as six advisors and five additional staff, all of whom will be making the move to Commonwealth.
Hackley said he was drawn to Commonwealth partially because of the chance to support advisor development, saying he wanted to use Commonwealth’s offerings to find an acquisition pace that would double the firm’s assets and advisor number within five years.
“Commonwealth has the capital to back my growth goals, and they’ve had a stable ownership structure for more than 40 years,” Hackley said.
Before Commonwealth, Hackley had been affiliated with Securian since 1992, according to his IAPD profile.
In January, Cetera Financial Services agreed to purchase all of Securian’s retail wealth business, including its broker/dealer, registered investment advisor and insurance agency. Additionally, Cetera bought the equity of the Securian Trust Company, and purchased the chance to distribute Securian’s life and annuity products through its own employees.
As a result, Cetera was expected to add more than 1,000 employees and 30 independent firms into its network, totaling $47.4 billion in assets under administration and $24.8 billion in managed assets.
Securian would be rebranded as Cetera Wealth Management Group to be integrated as a “distinct community” in Cetera Advisor Networks, with the deal expected to close in the third quarter of this year. (WealthManagement.com reported today that Cetera CEO Adam Antoniades would likely step down from his role by the end of this year.)
In addition to building a full-service wealth management experience, Hackley has spent more than 10 years creating his development program for new advisors. The tract streamlines advisors’ ability to get industry designations and boost their careers, while clients of all levels get the chance to work with advisors offering advice more typical for ultra-high-net-worth clients.