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Cetera to Announce Regime Change

Cetera Financial Group, a network of independent broker-dealer firms, may announce senior management changes at the firm in the near future. According to industry reports, chief executive officer Larry Roth sent out an email to 9,000 advisors stating that there may be a formal announcement of a regime change at Cetera in the next couple of days.

“Please be assured that changes to our leadership structure — if any — will be driven by the best interests of the advisers and institutions we support, with a focus on our part of ensuring seamless and uninterrupted service,” said Roth.

Reports indicate that Roth may be stepping down from his position and supplanted by board chairman Robert Moore. Moore is the former president of LPL Financial and was tapped as chairman of Cetera following the pre-planned bankruptcy of its parent company, RCS Capital Corp (RCAP), now Aretec.

Cetera formally separated from RCAP earlier this year with Roth at the helm. Roth served as the CEO of AIG Advisor Group for nearly eight years before a stint as CEO of RCAP, the brokerage firm founded by Nicholas Schorsch.

Since October 2014, RCAP struggled to regain its footing after a $23 million accounting error and subsequent cover-up was revealed by another Schorsch-controlled entity, American Realty Capital Properties Inc., now Vereit (NYSE:VER).

Late last year, the firm’s wholesale distribution business, Realty Capital Securities, was charged with proxy fraud by the state of Massachusetts for fabricating shareholder votes. To settle the charges, it agreed to pay a $3 million fine and close its doors.

Moore, who currently serves as chief executive officer of institutional money manager, Legal & General Investment Management America, left LPL in March 2015 after being employed by the company in various executive positions since 2008.

In other Cetera news, the firm rounded out its board of directors earlier this summer by appointing three new members.

Cetera is the second-largest independent financial advisor network in the nation by number of advisors, as well as a leading provider of retail services to the investment programs of banks and credit unions.

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