Cetera President & CEO Adam Antoniades
Cetera Financial Group said early Monday that it is acquiring the independent financial planning channel of insurer Voya Financial, confirming reports that circulated over the weekend about the deal.
The deal should bring about 900 financial professionals with $40 billion in client assets to Cetera, giving it a total of roughly $300 billion in assets, the broker-dealer network said.
Voya expects that the sale will provide the company with over $300 million in deployable proceeds at closing. The transaction is expected to close in the second or third quarter.
Cetera now has about 8,000 financial professionals. Some 600 professionals with Voya Financial Advisors focused on its retirement business are excluded from the transaction.
"We have always respected VFA's commitment to their business owners, independent operating model and strong community of financial professionals," said Cetera CEO Adam Antoniades in a statement.
The advisors and staff moving to Cetera will become part of Cetera Advisor Networks. The Voya group will continue to be led by VFA President Tom Halloran. Key leadership and service teams will also move to Cetera as part of the transaction.
