Cetera Financial Group, a network of independent advisory firms, said Thursday that CEO Adam Antoniades will retire at the end of the year.
Antoniades will be replaced by Mike Durbin, CEO of Cetera Financial Group's parent company, Cetera Holdings, and a former Fidelity executive who came on board in May of last year. Durbin will lead both entities effective Dec. 31, overseeing their ongoing business growth and shared strategic direction.
In an interview with ThinkAdvisor ahead of the announcement Thursday, Antoniades said he's confident that this is the right time to step away, giving him more time to focus on friends and family. But he also looks forward to remaining active in his support of Cetera as a board member.
"There are many chapters in every exceptional organization," Antoniades said. "I am proud to have served as both a turnaround and expansion CEO, guiding the company through crucial phases of growth and transformation.
"Mike is a proven leader who will guide the next chapter, driving the company forward into even greater opportunities for accelerated growth and success," he added.
Antoniades, 59, has spent 35 years in the financial services industry, having served as the co-founder and CEO of First Allied Securities (now a part of Cetera) from 1994 through his move to Cetera in 2014.
At that time, Antoniades was named president of Cetera Financial Group before moving on to become CEO in 2019 — following the firm's acquisition by private equity firm Genstar Capital.
Growth History
Under Antoniades' leadership as CEO, Cetera has grown significantly. From 2019 to the end of 2024, Cetera will have acquired nine companies, boosted assets under management by 200% and increased total revenue by almost $2.8 billion.
It wrapped up its $1.2 billion acquistion of Avantax a year ago.
The company has also enhanced its advisor offering to include proprietary platforms like AdviceWorks and Growth 360, Antoniades said, allowing it to better serve advisors and becoming a destination for advisors seeking growth-oriented resources, tools and support for business success.
Overall, the firm is now home to roughly 12,000 financial professionals and their teams, while Cetera Financial Group oversees more than $521 billion in assets under administration and $224 billion in assets under management.
Its operations include RIA Cetera Investment Advisers and broker-dealers Cetera Advisors, Cetera Advisor Networks, Cetera Investment Services (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions or Cetera Investors), Cetera Financial Specialists and Avantax.
