Cetera Financial Group announced Tuesday that it picked up Pittsford, New York-based iTP Partners, a firm whose nearly 50 advisors oversee about $3.5 billion in assets under administration (AUA) and which launched Blue Horizon Equity, an independent RIA using Cetera’s Blueprint platform.
With an additional office in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, iTP was co-founded by financial advisors Bob Sansone and Jeff Hartman, who also serve as its Managing Directors, and joins Cetera from Osaic.
In 2014, Sansone and Hartman started developing the firm that would become iTP, initially affiliating with American Portfolios, then transitioning via the Advisor Group/Osaic succession, according to Cetera.
The new Cetera affiliate’s advisors are also equity stakeholders, not just affiliated professionals, Cetera said.
Blueprint is Cetera’s integrated technology and services platform that it designed for RIAs, and it offers advisors “RIA-level autonomy, multi-custodial flexibility, and modular middle-office infrastructure, enabling advisory firms to scale efficiently without having to build that infrastructure on their own,” according to Cetera.
“What I liked about Blueprint and Cetera’s approach is that they’re not rigid, and they’re very willing to adjust to the needs at hand so things stay flexible as we move along,” Sansone said in a news release. “Cetera hasn’t dug their heels in on anything, and that’s refreshing.”
Sansone went on to say, “The RIA model is the future of our industry. At iTP, we have created a home where an advisor can participate in the benefits of our model – including real ownership through equity – without having to do all the work of building it from scratch. That’s a powerful value proposition, and Cetera’s Blueprint platform amplifies it.”
“From day one, we’ve had people to work with; it’s already a partnership with real people we can reach whenever we need them, and that says a lot about Cetera and how they’ll support us,” Hartman said in the release. “The high level of service and attention we’re getting from Cetera isn’t something we’ve experienced in a long time, and it makes all the difference.”
Hartman also said growth was a key objective of iTP’s transition to Cetera.
“With active conversations already underway with advisors in several regions, iTP is pursuing significant additional asset growth in the near term – and is particularly well-positioned to appeal to experienced advisors and independent practices evaluating the RIA model who do not want to shoulder the complexity of standing up that infrastructure on their own,” according to Cetera.
“Blueprint is a collaboration that gives iTP the infrastructure to scale on their own terms, backed by the technology, resources, service and support of Cetera overall,” said Andina Anderson, Head of Blueprint for Cetera. “We’re proud that iTP chose Cetera as its partner to help them write their next growth chapter.”
Welcoming iTP, Cetera Wealth Management President Todd Mackay, said, “Bob and Jeff have spent decades proving that building a firm the right way – anchored by relationships, advisor ownership, and a genuine culture of service – is how to create lasting value.”
He concluded, “iTP is exactly the kind of firm Cetera was built to serve because they’re sophisticated, growth-oriented, and deeply committed to the advisors and clients who make it what it is.”
In April, Cetera launched Cetera Planning Partners, an employee-advisor RIA that it said combines its Avantax Planning Partners and The Retirement Planning Group RIA divisions.
As of March 31, Cetera firms managed about $630 billion in AUA and $296 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.
