Cetera RIA Adds $180 Million-Asset Watters Financial Services
Cetera’s employee-based registered investment adviser, The Retirement Planning Group, or TRPG, has acquired Watters Financial Services. With approximately $180 million in assets under management, as of March 31, 2024, the father-son team at Watters Financial Services is based in Paramus, N.J., and led by Tim Watters, CFP, and Colin Watters, CFP.
“We are pleased to welcome Tim, Colin and the dedicated Watters team to TRPG,” said Kevin Conard, chief executive officer at TRPG. “The Watters team shares our values and commitment to clients, and we are confident they will find TRPG a great home for their business and their clients.”
Watters delivers wealth management services to more than 130 clients. Through the acquisition, three full-time professionals will become TRPG/Cetera employees.
“As we contemplated the future of our business, we knew we wanted to increase our focus on what matters most: serving our clients,” said Tim Watters. “Joining Kevin and the TRPG team has empowered this shift by alleviating many of the time consuming and cumbersome burdens of operating a financial planning business. We look forward to a bright future for our business and our clients together with TRPG.”
The acquisition marks the third for TRPG since being acquired by Cetera in June 2023. TRPG acquired Dightman Capital Group Inc. in February 2024 and closed an acquisition of Lee Financial Group Hawaii and its $225 million in AUM in June. TRPG now oversees more than $2 billion in assets.
Cetera Financial Group has been equally active, recently naming a new chief compliance officer for its tax channel, along with completing a minority investment in Wilde Wealth Management, an Arizona-based office of supervisory jurisdiction overseeing about $2.8 billion in assets under
“We anticipate that TRPG will continue to attract independent advisors looking to spend more time with their clients and less time running their business and encourage today’s client-centric independent advisors to consider TRPG,” added Conard.
The Retirement Planning Group is Cetera’s employee-based RIA and an SEC-registered investment advisory firm headquartered in Leawood, Kan. TRPG provides comprehensive wealth management services, including retirement planning, portfolio and investment management, tax planning, tax preparation, and filing by its in-house tax team. As of March 31, 2024, the firm had more than 2,000 clients.
Cetera Financial Group, which is owned by Cetera Holdings, serves more than 12,000 independent financial professionals and their teams, including tax professionals, banks, and credit unions in providing financial planning and wealth management services. Cetera oversees more than $505 billion in assets under administration and $213 billion in assets under management, as of March 31, 2024.
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