Advisor Group President & CEO Jamie Price
Advisor Group is looking to expand the coaching and consulting program that was started by Ladenburg Thalmann's practice management team, Jamie Price, Advisor Group CEO and president, said Tuesday at his company's ConnectED Canvas virtual conference.
Noting that Ladenburg — the parent company of Securities America — had an "exceptionally well-thought-of and long-tenured business coaching and consulting team" before the firms merged, he said that was an "important factor" in Advisor Group's decision to acquire Ladenburg's five broker-dealers in a $1.3 billion transaction that was finalized early this year.
The firm said in May that the BDs KMS Financial Services, Securities Service Network and Investacorp were set to become part of Securities America, the largest of the Ladenburg BDs, by year-end. RIA-focused Triad Advisors is remaining a standalone BD.
Those who have taken part in that program have seen significant asset and revenue growth, he said, adding: "This resource has been enhanced and we will be ultimately rolling [it out] across the entire advisor network."
The Prepared Buyer and Prepared Seller programs that are rolling out include the "comprehensive training curricula pioneered" by Ladenburg's practice management team, "along with extensive expert consulting support for aspiring buyers and sellers," Advisor Group said in announcing its plan Tuesday.
Acquisition Funding
Advisor Group also announced a new Continuity Coverage & Acquisitions Program (CCAP), which the company said strengthens its support for affiliated financial professionals' acquisition efforts by providing a dedicated pool of capital from Advisor Group's balance sheet that qualified acquirors can use to acquire other practices both within and outside the Advisor Group network, "eliminating the need to source financing from a third party in many cases."
The program will start in the first quarter of next year, with an initial pilot program of financial professionals, as part of a "carefully phased rollout plan that will expand access to the CCAP program for all financial professionals across the Advisor Group network throughout 2021," it said.
The platform will offer loans at competitive interest rates, while offering financial professionals other major benefits, including cost savings on the origination and processing fees typically charged by third-party lenders.
