Following LPL deal, Woodbury Financial poaches $435M National Planning firm

A practice with seven advisors and 3,000 clients left National Planning for Woodbury Financial Services after LPL Financial acquired the assets of their longtime broker-dealer.

Feucht Financial Group founder Mark Feucht and his sons Jeremy and Chad Feucht, who manage $435 million in assets under administration, chose the 25th-largest IBD, Woodbury announced this week. It marked at least the second firm to join a smaller IBD instead of LPL, the largest one, after the deal.

Competitors such as Woodbury and its parent, Advisor Group, have been making the pitch to advisors like those of the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin-based firm. LPL purchased the assets of National Planning Holdings’ four BDs on Aug. 15, with plans to move 3,200 advisors to LPL in waves in November and early next year.

“When that went through, we did our due diligence for our clients,” says Chad Feucht, 44. “We looked around at several firms and Woodbury was just the absolute best fit.”

A spokeswoman for National Planning declined to comment on Feucht Financial's departure, and a spokesman for LPL did not have a comment.

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ALL IN THE FAMILY
Mark Feucht, 70, launched the practice in 1974 and his sons came aboard after serving in the military in Iraq. Feucht Financial had been with National Planning since 2000, following 13 years with HD Vest Financial Services, according to FINRA BrokerCheck.

The transition of Feucht Financial’s assets to Woodbury’s platform will take about three months, Chad Feucht says. The suburban St. Paul, Minnesota-based IBD has now recruited 74 new registered representatives so far this year, out of 317 for the four Advisor Group IBDs, according to the firm.

"Feucht Financial Group's laser focus on putting clients first is in perfect alignment with the values that we hold near and dear at Woodbury,” Joe Nienhaus, the firm’s regional vice president for Wisconsin, said in a statement.

“Chad and Jeremy lead their company with the same ‘service before self’ mentality that made them so successful in their careers with the United States Air Force and Army, respectively."

Woodbury’s roughly 1,000 producing reps took in revenue of $253.9 million last year, a 3% drop in line with an industry-wide slump. Advisor Group disclosed $1.3 billion in revenue from some 4,800 reps across Woodbury, FSC Securities, Royal Alliance Associates and SagePoint Financial.

Royal Alliance last month announced that it had grabbed a $350 million hybrid RIA from National Planning, as well as a $385 million practice from Signator Investors. Also in September, FSC Securities hired Derek Burke, the former president of Waddell & Reed, as its new CEO.