Nicholas Schorsch has run out of public independent broker-dealers to buy.
"The only ones left … are LPL" and Raymond James, he said in an interview with ThinkAdvisor.
Schorsch and the empire he leads, which includes American Realty Capital (ARCP) and RCS Capital (RCAP), just moved to gobble up Summit Financial Services Group (SMMF) for $49 million on Monday.
That announcement came on the heels of news last month that RCS Capital was buying Investors Capital (ICH) and Hatteras Funds.
Grabbing a public entity is "expedient," Schorsch says, because of the "measurable" financial results that are readily available about these companies.
Still, he adds, private firms are worthwhile investments, too, like First Allied Securities, an independent broker-dealer that RCAP acquired earlier this year.
"We are open to nonpublic companies for deals," Schorsch said, though he wouldn't comment on industry speculation that RCAP could be eying privately held IBDs, such as NEXT Financial and Kovack Securities.
As broker-dealers like Summit Financial, Investors Cap and First Allied are brought together, "Synergies are able to be recognized," he said.
"We are not going to change or migrate head offices, so [advisor] clients won't lose their touchpoints," Schorsch insisted. "This is not about consolidating and getting rid of personnel. It's really about growth."