In one of the largest recruiting moves among independent wealth managers this year, a firm overseeing 2,000 employer-sponsored retirement plans switched brokerages.
Gallagher's Retirement, Investment & Fiduciary Consulting Practices, which has more than 90 advisors and 50 support staff members with listed discretionary assets under management of $6.27 billion on behalf of 55 clients, left Kestra Investment Services for Advisor Group’s Triad Advisors, the firms said on April 11. The move represents the second-largest among independent brokerages in 2022 after only
In terms of client assets, the brokerage flip by Gallagher’s Retirement ranks above all but six moves
“We have made some retirement acquisitions in the past,” said Jeff Leonard, Gallagher Retirement’s North American financial and retirement services practice leader. “We expect to make more retirement and financial planning acquisitions in the future, and I think this model really helps us execute on that. So I would expect to see us make more acquisitions.”
Kestra Investment Services and its parent firms, independent wealth manager Kestra Financial and Kestra Holdings, are “proud to have served as a partner to Gallagher for more than a decade,” spokeswoman Leah Pappas said in an emailed statement.
“As their business has grown, the natural evolution is for them to take this path and create their own in-house RIA solution,” Pappas said. “We've appreciated the opportunity to play a role in that growth and appreciate their loyalty for all these years.”
For service providers with a large base of 401(k) plan sponsors and participants, a choice of brokerage firm revolves around operational questions, including structure of the business, technology upgrades for employers and employees, and how to build a successful and compliant rollover capability amid
“It's how they manage that and how they make sure that they're still able to offer services to these retail clients when they want to take the next step,” Smith said. “That’s a key area that Labor and the SEC and FINRA are all poking around in. I’m not sure what any of us think the landscape will look like five years from now.”
The parent firm of Gallagher’s Retirement traces its roots to the insurance agency launched by founder Arthur Gallagher in Chicago in 1927, its website says. In 1975, the company’s employee benefits division created its first self-funded plan. Last year, the parent generated a net $1.18 billion in total company earnings on $8.06 billion in revenue,
John Jurik, Gallagher's national practice leader for retirement plan consulting, had been affiliated with Kestra for 14 years, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. The company formally moved to Triad on April 1.
“Autonomy was a key factor in our decision to consolidate most of our major business lines, including the more than 2,000 retirement plans we oversee,” Jurik said in a statement, adding that the new setup under the hybrid RIA model offers growth potential for the firm.
With an eye toward drawing in such potential incoming teams, Advisor Group appointed ex-RBC Wealth Management
Asked in an interview for any available recruiting metrics for last year, Kimmell said that the firm exceeded its goals for incoming assets under management and administration with “strong performance” in 2021. The Gallagher’s Retirement move “really showcases the partnership that we're looking to create and build with these financial professionals in meeting the needs of their practices,” she said.
So far this year, the other top five recruiting moves in terms of client assets across independent brokerages brought an ex-UBS practice with $3 billion in client assets to
