Cetera adds OSJ aiming to expand outside product manufacturer BDs

One of the largest wealth managers recruited a major office of supervisory jurisdiction that expects to top more than 50 representatives in the next couple of months.

Jim Starnes and the team at Houston-based Totus Wealth Management picked Cetera Financial Group after he spent 20 years with wealth managers in the wirehouse and insurance channels, most recently at MassMutual, Cetera said May 5. The enterprise has 11 reps after its first wave of transitions, and the OSJ managed $2.4 billion in client assets with its prior broker-dealer.

He declines to predict the exact number of reps that will ultimately leave MassMutual to affiliate with Cetera Advisors from other locations in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Florida after the initial group from Texas. If all of the OSJ’s client assets migrate to its new BD, the move would be the fifth-largest of 2021 among IBDs and more than the total that Cetera recruited in February.

Cetera won out over MassMutual and other contenders after two years of due diligence due to the team’s “very firm belief in the fiduciary standard,” Starnes said in an interview, echoing a common refrain from advisors exiting insurance-owned BDs and other product manufacturers.

“We had great people doing the right things but we couldn't deal with any more potential conflicts,” Starnes says. “We looked for a partner where we could have complete control over the products we were going to offer clients.”

Cetera Financial Group

Representatives for MassMutual disputed the accuracy of the figure cited by Cetera and Starnes on the size of the OSJ, but they wished the team success in the new venture.

Totus has headquarters in Houston and The Woodlands, Texas, and it officially switched its affiliation to Cetera on April 30, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. Its name comes from the Latin word for “whole or total,” reflecting comprehensive advice. Starnes had been with MassMutual since its acquisition of MetLife’s U.S. retail advisor force for $165 million in 2016, and he had earlier tenures with UBS, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Citigroup.

He credits COO/CFO Sandra Diaz, Director of Operations Crystal Nguyen and Executive Senior Partner John Wheeler for leading the team’s selection process.

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“We continually look ahead for what's next and help you navigate smart financial decisions for both the planned as well as life's unexpected events,” Diaz said in a statement. “This high-touch approach requires constant communication and we're looking forward to enhancing our outreach with the technology and marketing solutions offered by Cetera.”

As the No. 5 IBD onFinancial Planning’s annual IBD Elite survey of the largest firms in the sector, Cetera’s more than 7,500 advisors across Cetera Advisors and its four other subsidiaries generated $1.92 billion in revenue in 2019. In February, the firm recruited nine teams with a combined $1.7 billion in client assets. Totus is aiming to add to its team as well, Starnes says.

“If you feel in your heart that, you want to break the chain, you want to break the handcuff, but how do you do that?” Starnes says. “We want to help you do that.”