Cetera Financial Group announced Monday that Sierra Ridge Advisor Group, a Roseville, California-based investment practice with about 40 advisors overseeing approximately $2.1 billion in assets under administration (AUA) as of June 30, joined it from LPL Financial.
Sierra Ridge chose Cetera to support the “next phase” of its national expansion strategy that includes plans to launch its own RIA on Cetera’s Blueprint platform, Cetera said.
Blueprint provides a multi-custodial platform and middle-office services, according to Cetera.
Sierra Ridge now has six offices in California, Missouri, Oregon and Wisconsin.
Sierra Ridge’s growth plans include new offices in the Midwest and on the East Coast and onboarding additional advisor teams, Cetera pointed out.
Led by Co-Founders James Slaughter and Giancarlo Foti, Sierra Ridge joined the Cetera Networks community within Cetera’s Large Enterprise channel, according to Cetera.
Sierra Ridge officially became affiliated with Cetera on Aug. 14 and “remains an independently owned and operated firm” that will keep its name and leadership, a Cetera spokesperson told Wealth Solutions Report.
Sierra Ridge intends to maintain a hybrid model to serve advisors in both brokerage and advisory, according to Cetera.
“There are so many outstanding advisors who want to grow their practices while being client-focused but they’re not getting what they need from their broker-dealer or OSJ.” — James Slaughter, Co-Founder, Sierra Ridge Advisor Group
“I know there are so many outstanding advisors who want to grow their practices while being client-focused but they’re not getting what they need from their broker-dealer or OSJ, and honestly, they feel abandoned on an island,” Slaughter said in a press release.
He added, “We’re excited to join Cetera because while other broker-dealers are leaning away from supporting OSJs, Cetera is clearly leaning in with more investments to support the OSJ business model, so we know we’re important to Cetera and its executive team.”
Slaughter and Foti decided to leave LPL after 13 months.
“We made a change because we believe that Cetera is the partner that will help us to continue to grow and provide open architecture for our advisors without limiting us, while positioning us for continued success,” Foti said.
He added, “What … struck us during due diligence was the involvement of Cetera’s executive team – they made clear they intend to be a genuine partner to us as a large enterprise focused on building a national footprint. That kind of access and a platform that doesn’t limit how we serve advisors is exactly what we were looking for.”
Welcoming the Sierra Ridge team, Tim Stinson, President and Leader of Cetera’s Large Enterprise channel, said in the press release, “James and Giancarlo have already accomplished remarkable things, not only in the size and scale of Sierra Ridge Advisor Group, but in the truly special services they provide advisors, including their hands-on transition team.”
Stinson added, “They’re a natural fit for Cetera’s Large Enterprise channel – we’re proud to welcome them and my team is eager to support Sierra Ridge’s next chapter of growth.”
Cetera’s network has about 12,000 financial professionals and institutions and, as of June 30, Cetera firms managed about $688 billion in AUA, not including Sierra Ridge’s assets, and $330 billion in assets under management (AUM), it said.
Jeff Berman, Contributing Editor and Reporter at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at jeff.berman@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
