July 18, 2018
Cetera Financial Group, a leading network of nearly 8,000 financial advisors, selects Willkie client Genstar Capital as its strategic partner.
On July 17, it was announced that Cetera Financial Group, a leading network of nearly 8,000 financial advisors, has partnered with Willkie client Genstar Capital to accelerate the company’s growth and success under its current brand, culture and leadership team. Under this new partnership, Genstar has entered into a definitive agreement with Aretec Group, Inc., the holding company for Cetera, in a transaction expected to close in the late third quarter of this year. Under the agreement, Genstar will assume majority equity control of Cetera, with Cetera’s leadership team maintaining a meaningful ownership position.
The transaction reflects a shared commitment to Cetera’s Advice-Centric Experience™ model and provides access to significant capital for future investments in technology, customer experience, operations, data and growth platforms for the financial advisors and financial institutions served by Cetera.
Cetera is the second-largest independent financial advisor network in the nation by number of advisors, as well as a leading service provider to the investment programs of banks and credit unions. With approximately $10 billion in assets under management, San Francisco-based Genstar Capital is a leading private equity firm focused on targeted segments of the financial services, industrial technology, healthcare and software industries.
The Willkie team was led by partners Jeffrey Poss and Manuel Miranda and included counsel Daniel Mun and associate Ted Powers.
