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RetireOne — a distributor of fee-based annuities and life insurance policies — has acquired a broker-dealer business from an arm of Ric Edelman's company, Edelman Financial Engines L.P.
Edelman Financial is selling only the EF Legacy Securities broker-dealer unit.
Edelman Financial itself is still operating as a financial planning and investment advisory firm in Sunnyvale, California.
RetireOne bought the broker-dealer business to improve back office support for all registered investment advisors, and especially to advisors who are moving to a fee-based compensation model, from a commission-based model, RetireOne said today in the deal announcement.
Today, many former registered reps who shift to working with RIAs end up abandoning clients, and hundreds of millions of dollars in client assets, RetireOne Chief Executive Officer David Stone said in a statement about the deal.
"With our help, these client assets may no longer be left behind," Stone said.
