$630M team drops Osaic for Commonwealth

A trio of financial advisors with an ensemble team of a half dozen other employees at a second-generation advisory practice dropped Osaic for Commonwealth Financial Network.

Kim Krueger, her brother Eric Krueger and Tim Hill of Tempe, Arizona-based Krueger Financial Services left Osaic, formerly Advisor Group, where they had managed more than $630 million in client assets, Commonwealth said in a press release Aug. 13. The Kruegers' father launched their advisory practice in 1982, and some of the client households are fourth-generation customers of the firm, Kim Krueger said in an interview.

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She had "nothing bad to say about Osaic," although she noted that many firms have "some growing pains and challenges" when completing acquisitions and consolidations. With Osaic carrying out a rebranding last year and a plan to fold eight brokerages into one, while adding another big incoming firm in Lincoln Financial Group's wealth business earlier in 2024, some advisors have opted for other companies. Kruger's team chose Commonwealth, which took home the highest grade among advisors in job satisfaction last month as part of J.D. Power's annual rankings.

"We just felt that it was time for us to make a move to put the practice in a place that was very easy to do business," she said. "Their systems are tried and true, and we were just really impressed with how they do business and their ease of doing business."

Representatives for Osaic didn't respond to an email seeking comment on the team's departure.

As one of the largest independent brokerages in wealth management, Commonwealth boosted its business in terms of annual revenue by 10% last year to $2.29 billion, according to figures the firm provided to Financial Planning's IBD Elite study. 

The firm is currently appealing a court decision that ordered it to pay $93 million over the Securities and Exchange Commission's allegations that it failed to disclose conflicts of interest in mutual fund recommendations. Privately-held Commonwealth has never taken an outside infusion of capital, and its top score in J.D. Power's rankings marked the 11th time that the firm received the highest grade among independent brokerages out of the last 11 years that the research and consulting firm conducted the survey of advisors.

"As a family-owned practice, the Krueger team felt at home with our private ownership structure," Becca Hajjar, Commonwealth's chief business development officer, said in a statement. "Also, like us, the team wants a decades-long partnership based around giving clients an outstanding experience."

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In her prepared statements in the company's release, Krueger had cited the needs of an ensemble practice, succession-planning resources and the option to be a hybrid registered investment advisory firm someday. 

The team officially joined Commonwealth last month, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. Prior to spending roughly one year with Osaic, following five with its former subsidiary brokerage, SagePoint Financial, Krueger had tenures with LPL Financial and National Planning as part of her 18-year stint in the field. Her brother has had time with those four companies as well during his 12 years in the industry, and Hill is a 36-year veteran who first came to the advisory practice in 1991. The Kruegers started working at their father's former business in 2010. 

Operating out of one office in Tempe, Krueger's firm conducts no marketing or other advertising, so all of its new business comes from client referrals, she noted.

"There's obviously no higher praise than getting a referral from someone you're already doing business with," Krueger said. "It's a privilege to work with these people, not a right. And we need to earn that right every single day. We really take that to heart."