How many advisors does Cetera have?

Cetera's August 2026 press-release boilerplate puts it at approximately 12,000 financial professionals and institutions, with about $688 billion in assets under administration and $330 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026. Its largest RIA, Cetera Investment Advisers LLC, reported 9,049 employees performing advisory functions and $256.8 billion in regulatory assets under management on its August 2026 Form ADV.

Genstar Capital, a private-equity firm, has held majority control of Aretec Group, Inc., the holding company doing business as Cetera Holdings, since October 2018, and reinvested through its Genstar XI fund in December 2023. Cetera's leadership and management hold stakes alongside it.

Is Cetera in the Broker Protocol?

Its principal broker-dealers are. Cetera Advisor Networks (now Cetera Wealth Services) and Cetera Advisors have been members since May 14, 2010, Cetera Financial Specialists since October 9, 2015, and the two Avantax entities since 2013 and 2016, per J.S. Held's list dated September 8, 2026. Cetera Advisor Networks carries joinder qualifications, and Cetera Investment Services, the bank and credit union broker-dealer, is not on the list.

What affiliation models does Cetera offer?

Independent affiliation under Cetera's corporate RIA or an advisor-owned RIA (RIA Blueprint), a W-2 employee-advisor RIA called Cetera Planning Partners, a supported-independence branch model called Turnkey Independence, bank and credit union programs through Cetera Investment Services, a tax-focused community through Avantax, and enterprise affiliation for super OSJs and producer groups.

Where is Cetera headquartered?

Cetera Financial Group's principal office is 655 W. Broadway, San Diego, California. Its largest registered investment adviser, Cetera Investment Advisers LLC, lists its principal office at 1450 American Lane, Schaumburg, Illinois, on Form ADV, and Avantax is based in Dallas.

Is Cetera a good firm for a financial advisor?

That depends on the practice. The public record shows a network assembled largely by acquisition, six distinct ways to affiliate, a self-clearing custodian of its own, a private-equity owner, and transition assistance that trade press describes as among the largest in the independent channel. Which of those matters most is a question about your book and what you want to own.

Back to the profiles

Cetera Financial Group

Independent broker-dealer·Aretec Group, Inc. (doing business as Cetera Holdings), a portfolio company of Genstar Capital

Cetera Financial Group is a privately held network of broker-dealers and registered investment advisers, majority-owned by Genstar Capital since 2018, that reports approximately 12,000 financial professionals and institutions and about $688 billion in assets under administration as of June 30, 2026, after acquiring Voya Financial Advisors' independent channel, Securian Financial's retail wealth business and Avantax. An advisor affiliates as an independent practice under Cetera's corporate RIA or an advisor-owned RIA, as a W-2 employee of Cetera Planning Partners, through a bank or credit union program, through the tax-focused Avantax community, or in a supported-independence branch.

$256.8B

Regulatory AUM, Cetera Investment Advisers LLC

[1]

9,049

Employees performing advisory functions, per Form ADV

[1]

~12,000

Financial professionals and institutions

[2]

$688B

Assets under administration, Jun 30 2026

[2]

Facts last reviewed Sep 10, 2026. Every figure on this page carries a numbered source.

01 · Destination profile

What Cetera Financial Group is

Aretec Group, Inc. (doing business as Cetera Holdings), a portfolio company of Genstar Capital

Cetera Financial Group was formed in 2010 when Lightyear Capital completed its purchase of three ING broker-dealers, Financial Network Investment Corp., Multi-Financial Securities Corp. and PrimeVest Financial Services Inc., which together had 4,841 advisers and approximately $75 billion of assets under administration at the end of 2009.^[3]
In May 2016 Cetera's parent, RCS Capital Corporation, emerged from bankruptcy as a private company renamed Aretec Group, a name its CEO said existed primarily for legal purposes, with $150 million in fresh capital.^[4]
On July 17, 2018 Cetera announced that Genstar Capital would assume majority equity control of Aretec Group, Inc., the holding company for Cetera, with Cetera's leadership team keeping a meaningful ownership position; the firm had nearly 8,000 financial advisors at the time.^[5]
The Genstar transaction closed in early October 2018 at a reported price of approximately $1.7 billion, with management retaining a significant stake; the network then had 7,700 advisors across six independent broker-dealers.^[6]
On June 9, 2021 Cetera completed its acquisition of assets related to Voya Financial Advisors' independent financial planning channel, forming the Cetera Wealth Partners business with approximately $37 billion of assets under administration and retaining more than 90 percent of the channel's financial professionals.^[7]
On August 10, 2023 Cetera completed its acquisition of Securian Financial's retail wealth and trust business, including certain assets of Securian Financial Services, Inc. and the equity of Securian Trust Company, N.A., renamed Cetera Trust Company, N.A.; Cetera reported retaining more than 91 percent of the invited financial professionals and nearly $50 billion in client assets, organised as the Cetera Wealth Management Group community within Cetera Advisor Networks.^[8]
On November 27, 2023 Cetera Holdings closed its acquisition of Avantax at $26.00 in cash per share; Avantax brought 3,111 financial professionals, $82.3 billion in assets under administration and $42.0 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2023, and Cetera retained Avantax's legal entities, brand, core technology, product offerings and existing clearing and custody relationships.^[9]
On December 22, 2023 Cetera announced the close of an equity reinvestment by Genstar Capital through its Genstar XI fund, with refreshed programs to encourage additional ownership by advisors and management; the release put Cetera at approximately 12,000 financial professionals, $475 billion in assets under administration and $190 billion in assets under management as of December 20, 2023, against about 7,000 advisors and $242 billion in AUA at Genstar's original 2018 investment.^[10]
Mike Durbin, previously head of Fidelity Institutional, was appointed chief executive officer of Cetera Holdings on May 17, 2023 and is listed by Cetera as chief executive officer; Cetera's leadership page names Genstar Capital as the owner and gives the principal office as 655 W. Broadway, 11th Floor, San Diego, CA 92101.^[11]
Cetera Investment Advisers LLC (SEC file 801-20406, CRD 105644) has been SEC-registered since January 13, 1984 with its principal office at 1450 American Lane, Schaumburg, Illinois; its most recent Form ADV, filed August 13, 2026, reports $256.8 billion in regulatory assets under management, 10,251 total employees, 9,049 employees performing investment advisory functions, 10,094 registered representatives of a broker-dealer and 6,584 offices other than the principal office.^[1]
Cetera describes itself as a network of independent retail firms comprising the FINRA member broker-dealers Cetera Advisors LLC, Cetera Wealth Services, LLC (formerly Cetera Advisor Networks), Cetera Investment Services LLC (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions or Cetera Investors) and Cetera Financial Specialists LLC, and the SEC-registered investment advisers Cetera Investment Management LLC and Cetera Investment Advisers LLC; Avantax is a distinct community within Cetera Wealth Services, LLC.^[12]

02 · Destination profile

How an advisor affiliates

The channels, in the firm's own terms.

Independent advisor, Cetera corporate RIA

1099, Cetera corporate RIA

Cetera's RIA Blueprint describes a Cetera Corporate RIA option, in its words to operate like an RIA without taking on all the risk, as one of three models an advisor can move between at their own pace.^[13]

Advisor-owned RIA (RIA Blueprint)

RIA, own ADV

RIA Blueprint offers an Advisor-Owned RIA with Compliance Support and a fully independent Advisor-Owned RIA, with technology through Cetera's AdviceWorks platform, compliance consulting and draft filing reviews, and custody through Cetera Investment Services, which Cetera describes as having 33 years of self-clearing history.^[13]

Cetera Planning Partners

W-2, employee-advisor RIA

Launched April 28, 2026 as a scaled, national employee-advisor RIA unifying Avantax Planning Partners and The Retirement Planning Group, with over 100 advisors and approximately $19 billion in AUA as of March 31, 2026, described by Cetera as a unique employee-advisor community within its RIA and Branches channel.^[14]

Turnkey Independence (Cetera Investors branches)

Supported independence, branch-based

Cetera describes Turnkey Independence as supported independence: a fully equipped office with furniture, technology and supplies, a branch manager, sales assistant and office admin supplied by Cetera, and HR, payroll and compliance handled by Cetera, across 40 branches as of April 30, 2024; the page does not state whether the advisor is W-2 or 1099.^[15]

Financial Institution Division (Cetera Investment Services)

Bank and credit union programs

Cetera states that the advisors within a bank or credit union program can be an employee of the financial institution, independently contracted, or a hybrid of both, through Cetera Investment Services LLC, marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions or Cetera Investors.^[16]

Avantax (tax and accounting professionals)

1099 or RIA, tax-focused

Avantax lists three affiliation models, an independent broker-dealer affiliation, a turnkey RIA program and a referral-generating Strategic Partnership Program, for financial advisors, licensed tax professionals and tax professionals, and states that most of its financial professionals are also tax professionals or collaborate closely with tax experts.^[17]

Large Enterprises

Super OSJ or producer group

Cetera describes multiple affiliation options that maintain an enterprise's community, culture and business model while, in its words, empowering a super OSJ, broker-dealer or producer group.^[18]

03 · Destination profile

The economics, as publicly reported

Published ranges and filings, not an offer. What a specific practice is offered is a question for the room.

Cetera does not publish a payout grid or a transition-assistance range; its transition assistance page states only that it offers, in its words, its largest TA offer ever, with no percentage, range or dollar figure.^[19]
Trade press reported in October 2025 that Cetera was offering transition assistance of up to 150 basis points on assets for advisors with 60 percent or more in advisory accounts, structured as a forgivable loan over nine to ten years, against a historical norm of 20 to 30 basis points of trailing twelve-month revenue; the same reporting put Cetera at approximately 12,000 financial advisors.^[20]
In July 2026 a William Blair research note, reported by InvestmentNews, said Cetera indicated recruiting activity had reached record levels with 2026 on pace for another record, and that transition-assistance rates industry-wide have trended upward for several years, accelerating after LPL's announced acquisition of Commonwealth in March 2025.^[21]
Cetera publishes one recruiting economic figure itself: a Referral Rewards program paying an affiliated advisor up to 10 percent of a referred advisor's eligible trailing twelve-month gross dealer concession, up to $150,000, for referrals submitted on or after June 1, 2026 that affiliate by December 31, 2026, and a $5,000 fixed bonus for referred advisors producing $40,000 to $149,999.^[22]
In the bank and credit union channel, Cetera compensates the institution for the use of its facilities, technology, marketing services and office supplies and pays the institution, in cash or non-cash, for referring customers or members to Cetera; the advisor is compensated directly or indirectly by Cetera.^[23]

04 · Destination profile

Protocol for Broker Recruiting

Membership per the official J.S. Held list, with the joinder qualifications that matter on the day you resign.

Cetera's principal broker-dealers are Protocol members per the J.S. Held master list: Cetera Advisor Networks LLC (formerly Financial Network Investment Corporation, now doing business as Cetera Wealth Services per the firm) since May 14, 2010, flagged for specific joinder qualifications on the master list; Cetera Advisors LLC (formerly Multi-Financial Securities Corporation) since May 14, 2010; Cetera Financial Specialists LLC since October 9, 2015; Avantax Investment Services, Inc. (formerly HD Vest Investment Services) since October 28, 2013; and Avantax Advisory Services, Inc. (formerly HD Vest Advisory Services) since April 18, 2016. First Allied Securities, Inc., a legacy Cetera broker-dealer, is listed since September 10, 2008. Cetera Investment Services LLC, the bank and credit union broker-dealer, does not appear on the list. The joinder qualifications on Cetera Advisor Networks are worth reading before a move.^[24]

What the Protocol does and does not protect: the explainer.

05 · Destination profile

Who tends to move there

The pattern in the public record and the trade press. A pattern, not a recommendation.

Cetera is the independent channel's serial acquirer of other people's distribution, and the practices that affiliate there reflect that. Three of its largest additions were carve-outs from insurers and a tax-software company: Voya's independent planning channel, Securian's retail wealth business and Avantax, so a large share of the network is advisors whose broker-dealer was sold to Cetera rather than chosen. Around that core, the firm's own announcements since 2025 describe former Commonwealth advisors arriving as independent practices, CPA-affiliated tax practices affiliating through Avantax, bank and credit union programs contracting for an investment desk, and founder-led RIAs selling into the W-2 Cetera Planning Partners unit as a succession route. The advisor who chooses Cetera tends to want one of those specific structures, a tax-integrated practice, a bank program, a branch with staff supplied, or an employee seat with an exit built in, rather than a generic independent affiliation; the advisor weighing it against a smaller counterparty is usually weighing scale and a private-equity owner against the same.

06 · Destination profile

The twelve diligence questions, applied

The list from how to choose a platform, answered where the public record answers and left as the question where it does not.

4 of 12

questions about Cetera Financial Group are not answered anywhere public. They are answered in the room, for a specific practice, and the answers move the number more than anything above.

01What are the actual terms of the custody agreement, at my asset mix?: Custody for RIA Blueprint advisors runs through Cetera Investment Services, which Cetera describes as self-clearing for 33 years; Avantax advisors kept Avantax's existing clearing and custody relationships after the 2023 acquisition. The agreement terms are not published.^[13]
02What is the cash sweep arrangement, and who keeps the spread?: Cetera Investment Services publishes an Insured Deposit Sweep Account disclosure that sweeps available cash to FDIC-insured deposit accounts at program banks; the page lists a customer rate of 0.45 percent as of August 17, 2026 and a monthly per-account fee of $16.90 anticipated to be paid by financial institutions. What Cetera receives from the program banks is in the disclosure statement obtained from a financial professional, not on the public page.^[25]
03What is the all-in cost, in basis points and in dollars, at my revenue and asset mix?: Asked in the room
04What is bundled, and what is charged separately?: Asked in the room
05What moves the number over time?: Asked in the room
06Who owns the client data, contractually, and in what form do I get it if I leave?: Asked in the room
07Who holds the technology contracts?: Cetera's advisor platform is its own, AdviceWorks, through which RIA Blueprint advisors manage brokerage and advisory business; who holds contracts for third-party tools is not published.^[13]
08Whose ADV is it?: The advisor's choice of three: Cetera's corporate RIA, an advisor-owned RIA with Cetera compliance support, or a fully independent advisor-owned RIA, and Cetera says an advisor can move between the three at their own pace. In Cetera Planning Partners the advisor is a W-2 employee of Cetera's employee-advisor RIA.^[13]
09What happens if the platform is sold?: Cetera has been the buyer three times over in recent years, of Voya's independent channel in 2021, Securian's retail wealth business in 2023 and Avantax in 2023, each time retaining the acquired entities and relationships. For an advisor inside Cetera the live question is the reverse, what happens when Cetera itself changes hands, since its majority owner is a private-equity fund.^[9]
10Who owns the platform, and what is their exit horizon?: Genstar Capital, a private-equity firm, majority owner since October 2018, which reinvested through its Genstar XI fund in December 2023 alongside programs for advisor and management ownership. The exit horizon is not published.^[10]
11How do I leave, and what does it cost?: The contract terms are not published. Trade press reports Cetera's transition assistance as a forgivable loan worked off over nine to ten years, which is the figure that sets the cost of leaving before it is forgiven.^[20]
12What do I take with me?: Cetera Advisor Networks (Cetera Wealth Services), Cetera Advisors, Cetera Financial Specialists and both Avantax entities are Protocol members, Cetera Advisor Networks with joinder qualifications, so client information moves under the Protocol between member firms subject to those qualifications; Cetera Investment Services, the bank and credit union broker-dealer, is not on the list.^[24]

07 · Destination profile

Questions advisors ask about Cetera Financial Group

How many advisors does Cetera have?: Cetera's August 2026 press-release boilerplate puts it at approximately 12,000 financial professionals and institutions, with about $688 billion in assets under administration and $330 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026. Its largest RIA, Cetera Investment Advisers LLC, reported 9,049 employees performing advisory functions and $256.8 billion in regulatory assets under management on its August 2026 Form ADV.
Who owns Cetera?: Genstar Capital, a private-equity firm, has held majority control of Aretec Group, Inc., the holding company doing business as Cetera Holdings, since October 2018, and reinvested through its Genstar XI fund in December 2023. Cetera's leadership and management hold stakes alongside it.
Is Cetera in the Broker Protocol?: Its principal broker-dealers are. Cetera Advisor Networks (now Cetera Wealth Services) and Cetera Advisors have been members since May 14, 2010, Cetera Financial Specialists since October 9, 2015, and the two Avantax entities since 2013 and 2016, per J.S. Held's list dated September 8, 2026. Cetera Advisor Networks carries joinder qualifications, and Cetera Investment Services, the bank and credit union broker-dealer, is not on the list.
What affiliation models does Cetera offer?: Independent affiliation under Cetera's corporate RIA or an advisor-owned RIA (RIA Blueprint), a W-2 employee-advisor RIA called Cetera Planning Partners, a supported-independence branch model called Turnkey Independence, bank and credit union programs through Cetera Investment Services, a tax-focused community through Avantax, and enterprise affiliation for super OSJs and producer groups.
Where is Cetera headquartered?: Cetera Financial Group's principal office is 655 W. Broadway, San Diego, California. Its largest registered investment adviser, Cetera Investment Advisers LLC, lists its principal office at 1450 American Lane, Schaumburg, Illinois, on Form ADV, and Avantax is based in Dallas.
Is Cetera a good firm for a financial advisor?: That depends on the practice. The public record shows a network assembled largely by acquisition, six distinct ways to affiliate, a self-clearing custodian of its own, a private-equity owner, and transition assistance that trade press describes as among the largest in the independent channel. Which of those matters most is a question about your book and what you want to own.

Sources

25 numbered sources behind this page

[1] SEC Form ADV data, Information About Registered Investment Advisers and Exempt Reporting Advisers, file ia09012026-registered.zip, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Sep 1, 2026.
[2] Cetera Welcomes Former Commonwealth Advisor Kim Hellerman-Hersman and Her Team Overseeing Approximately $175 Million in AUA (About Cetera boilerplate), PR Newswire, Aug 18, 2026.
[3] Lightyear wraps up purchase of ING B-Ds, re-brands group Cetera, InvestmentNews, Jun 29, 2010.
[4] Cetera Out of Bankruptcy, WealthManagement.com, May 25, 2016.
[5] Cetera Financial Group Selects Genstar Capital as Strategic Partner, PR Newswire, Jul 17, 2018.
[6] Cetera Financial Group completes Genstar Capital deal, Financial Planning, Oct 9, 2018.
[7] Cetera Completes Acquisition of Assets Related to Voya Financial Advisors' Independent Financial Planning Channel, PR Newswire, Jun 9, 2021.
[8] Cetera completes acquisition of Securian Financial's retail wealth business (press release text), InsuranceNewsNet (PR Newswire release), Aug 10, 2023.
[9] Cetera Holdings Announces Close of Avantax Acquisition, PR Newswire, Nov 27, 2023.
[10] Cetera Announces Close of Equity Reinvestment from Genstar Capital, PR Newswire, Dec 22, 2023.
[11] Leadership and Corporate Governance, Cetera, Cetera Financial Group, Sep 10, 2026.
[12] Avantax Wealth Management, home page footer, Avantax, Sep 10, 2026.
[13] Registered Investment Advisers Blueprint, Cetera, Cetera Financial Group, Sep 10, 2026.
[14] Cetera Launches Cetera Planning Partners, a Nearly $19 Billion National RIA, Cetera Financial Group, Apr 28, 2026.
[15] Turnkey Independence, Cetera, Cetera Financial Group, Sep 10, 2026.
[16] Cetera Wealth Services, Financial Institution Division, Cetera Financial Group, Sep 10, 2026.
[17] Financial Professionals, Avantax Wealth Management, Avantax, Sep 10, 2026.
[18] Large Enterprises, Cetera, Cetera Financial Group, Sep 10, 2026.
[19] Transition Assistance, Cetera, Cetera Financial Group, Sep 10, 2026.
[20] Cetera paying top dollar in 2025 fight for advisors, InvestmentNews, Oct 16, 2025.
[21] At Cetera, CEO Durbin says that recruiting advisors is strong but remains expensive: analyst, InvestmentNews, Jul 21, 2026.
[22] Referral Rewards, Cetera, Cetera Financial Group, Sep 10, 2026.
[23] Cetera Investment Services, Financial Institution Relationship disclosure, Cetera Financial Group, Sep 10, 2026.
[24] The Broker Protocol Member Firms list, dated September 8, 2026, J.S. Held, Sep 8, 2026.
[25] Cetera Investment Services, Insured Deposit Sweep Account, Cetera Financial Group, Sep 10, 2026.

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