Cetera Financial Group has launched a new registered investment advisor that will combine Avantax Planning Partners and the Retirement Planning Group into one new entity, dubbed Cetera Planning Partners. The employee-advisor model RIA will support over 100 advisors and approximately $19 billion in assets under advisement, all housed within Cetera’s recently established RIA and branches channel led by ex-Fidelity and Mariner executive Jennifer Hanau.

The move comes nearly three years after Cetera bought Avantax, formerly Blucora, and about three months after its purchase of Avantax-affiliated Darnall Sikes Wealth Partners. While the 2023 Avantax purchase wasn’t the biggest wealth management deal of its day, it was considered one of the more telling with respect to the long-term trajectory of the RIA industry. Increasingly, advisors (and their clients) are seeking access to integrated planning capabilities across tax, estate and retirement planning. At the same time, an aging advisor population is seeking succession planning pathways that meet their needs and those of their staff and clients. Cetera Planning Partners was built to meet this moment, Hanau told Advisor Upside.

“The advisor and RIA landscape is evolving rapidly, and advisors are increasingly looking to spend more time with clients and less time on running a business,” Hanau said. “We believe this is a moment to lead, bringing scale, stability and planning depth together in a way the market is clearly demanding.”

A Long Time Coming

Cetera Planning Partners can expect to benefit from in-house specialists across financial planning, tax, investments, estate planning, insurance, trust services and retirement plans, Hanau said. They will also have access to established CPA firm relationships and a multi-custodial platform built within Cetera.

“We’ve been intentionally building a modern employee‑advisor RIA platform as a key growth engine for Cetera,” Hanau said.

From the CEO. In a separate statement, Cetera Financial Group CEO Mike Durbin said advisor sentiment is increasingly aligned with the RIA model, propelled by accelerating client demand for financial planning and advice that goes beyond portfolio management. He said Cetera is in a strong position to capitalize on the mega-trend, thanks to its multi-affiliation model and its capital structure. The firm is backed by Genstar.

Kids these days, am I right?

Now more than ever, teens are getting invested in, well, investing. Seven in 10 teens ages 13 to 17 say they are very or extremely interested in building wealth, saving for big purchases and learning about markets, according to a new Charles Schwab survey. Just as many parents say it’s important their children learn the ins and outs of financial planning; however, many of those same parents say teaching their kids to invest is harder than teaching them how to drive.

That’s exactly what advisors looking to court the next generation of clients should want to hear. “There’s a genuine appetite for guidance,” said Michaela Jesionowski, a managing director at Schwab. “The key is meeting teens where they are. They’re eager to learn but candid about the gaps in their knowledge. That’s a tremendous opportunity for advisors to step in as a trusted resource and make a real difference early on.”

Hit the Books

Gen X and millennials entered the workforce during a weird transition period for investment and retirement planning. Pensions were being phased out in favor of 401(k)s, placing the onus of saving on employees rather than employers. Meanwhile, retail trading platforms and online educational resources hadn’t yet become ubiquitous, so plenty of Americans were stumbling around in the dark.

But the youth of today are a shining light, with kids not even old enough for a driver’s permit saying they already have some knowledge on how stocks, crypto currencies, mutual funds and ETFs work. The survey also found:

• Building money early, paying for college and making a major purchase like a car are among the top motivators for teens want to learn about investing.
• There’s also a significant gap between when today’s teens and their parents first became aware of investing. Some 15% of teens said they initially heard of investing at just nine years old, compared to only 1% of parents.
• Both parents and teens agree that money management is one of the most important subjects taught in school. (However, many states still don’t require students to take a personal finance course to graduate.)

“Investing is becoming a family activity,” Jesionowski told Advisor Upside. “That’s a really encouraging dynamic.” She warned that teens are also bombarded with social media, influencers and finance apps, so it’s up to advisors to help cut out all the noise. “That combination of access, awareness and information is driving teens to take this more seriously, and it’s also why education at this stage is so critical,” she said.

Too many advisors talk about growing but don’t do much about it.

The good news is that spring presents an ideal opportunity for financial advisors to host client events designed to generate referrals and deepen relationships. Better weather increases attendance and people are more willing to attend gatherings once winter ends. Tax season is also wrapping up, and many clients have put the dreaded headache of taxes behind them. Events remain one of the most effective ways for advisors to grow organically. When structured correctly, they allow advisors to strengthen existing relationships while creating a natural environment for introductions to prospective clients.

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