Cetera Financial Group announced Tuesday that it has completed the acquisition of Avantax, a little more than two months after the $1.2 billion deal's initial announcement in September.
The development brings more than 3,000 financial professionals to the Cetera network, along with some $82 billion in assets under administration and $42 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30.
In purchasing Avantax, Cetera gets advanced tax and retirement capabilities for wealthy and mass affluent clients, and the completed deal also adds Fidelity as a custodial partner for Cetera, making it easier for Cetera to buy other independent broker-dealers who use the custody platform.
Speaking with ThinkAdvisor in September, former Cetera CEO Larry Roth said the strategic drive behind the deal looked "very thoughtful and powerful."
In a statement confirming the deal's closing, Mike Durbin, CEO of Cetera Holdings, says the same.
