Cetera

What Cetera does

Cetera Holdings (legal entity Aretec Group, Inc.) is a privately held holding company affiliated with Cetera Financial Group, Inc., owned by Genstar Capital. It operates a network of independent broker-dealer and registered investment advisor (RIA) firms serving independent financial professionals, tax professionals, CPA firms, and financial institutions across the United States. As of December 31, 2025, the platform supported 11,400 affiliated financial professionals and 450 financial institutions with $640 billion in assets under administration and $294 billion in assets under management.

The company's core product is the Wealth Hub, a multi-model affiliation platform that allows advisors to affiliate through traditional broker-dealer relationships, RIA channels, or hybrid structures. Cetera operates multiple subsidiary communities — including Avantax, Cetera Wealth Services, Cetera Advisors, Cetera Financial Institutions, Cetera Financial Specialists, Cetera Investors, Cetera RIA Services, and Cetera Trust Company — each targeting distinct advisor segments. The technology stack is a multi-custodial platform (anchored by a strategic Fidelity clearing/custody relationship established via the Avantax acquisition) offering tax-intelligent planning, practice management, and integrations with third-party tools such as Income Lab.

Revenue is generated through transaction-based commissions on brokerage activity, recurring asset-based fees on investment advisory services, and platform service fees on the broader affiliated network. The go-to-market is exclusively indirect via recruiting advisors from competitors (Commonwealth, Wells Fargo Advisors, Osaic) and acquiring RIA firms. The company has executed an active inorganic strategy, including the November 2023 acquisition of Avantax (formerly NASDAQ: AVTA) and the April 2026 merger of two RIA units into a unified ~$19B planning division.

Name

Cetera

Legal name

Cetera Financial Group, Inc.

Website

https://ceteraholdings.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Cetera Holdings is a private, Genstar Capital-owned network of independent broker-dealer and RIA firms serving 11,400 financial professionals and 450 institutions with $640B AUA, operating a multi-custodial Wealth Hub platform for advisor affiliation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Wealth Management (FSAEABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Tax-Focused Wealth Management RIAs (FSAAACAD), Retirement & Distribution Planning RIAs (401(k)/IRA/Pension Rollovers) (FSAAACAE), Financial Planning–Led RIAs (FSAAACAB), Full-Service Retail Brokerage & Wealth Platforms (FSAAAAAA)

Keywords

• Wealth management platform
• Independent broker-dealer
• Registered investment advisor
• Financial advisor affiliation
• Tax-intelligent planning

Headquarters

HQ city

El Segundo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Broker-Dealer Services: Cetera provides brokerage services through its network of FINRA/SIPC member firms including Cetera Advisors LLC, Cetera Wealth Services, Cetera Investment Services, and Cetera Financial Specialists. Registered Representatives receive transaction-based compensation (commissions).
2. Investment Advisory Services: Investment Adviser Representatives offer investment advisory services and receive fees based on assets under management. Many advisors are dually registered to offer both brokerage and advisory services.
3. Tax-Intelligent Wealth Management: Through Avantax and Cetera Financial Specialists, the company provides tax-focused financial planning and wealth management solutions, minimizing client tax burdens through comprehensive tax-centric planning.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cetera operates a Wealth Hub model providing broker-dealer, registered investment advisor (RIA), and hybrid affiliation platforms for independent financial advisors, tax professionals, and financial institutions. The firm delivers brokerage execution, investment advisory services, tax-intelligent financial planning, trust services, and institutional investment program infrastructure through affiliated FINRA/SIPC member firms. It earns revenue from transaction-based commissions, asset-based advisory fees, and platform/service charges across $640B in assets under administration and $294B in assets under management.

Product overview

Cetera operates as a financial advisor Wealth Hub—a platform-plus-multiple-communities architecture that enables independent financial professionals and institutions to optimize professional control and value creation. The platform supports various affiliation models throughout the advisor lifecycle, offering growth and succession resources, technology solutions, and an ecosystem of distinct communities. Key communities include Avantax (tax-intelligent planning), Cetera Wealth Services (producer groups), Cetera Advisors (entrepreneurship), Cetera Financial Institutions (banks and credit unions), Cetera Financial Specialists (tax professionals), Cetera Investors (branch support), Cetera RIA Services (RIA autonomy), and Cetera Trust Company (trust services). The platform oversees approximately $640 billion in assets under administration and $294 billion in assets under management across 11,400 financial professionals and 450 financial institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wealth Hub: Platform model that helps financial advisors and institutions optimize professional control and value creation
• Avantax Planning Partners
• Avantax Wealth Management
• Voice of Customer (VoC) Program

Products and services

• Cetera Wealth Hub
• Avantax
• Cetera Wealth Services
• Cetera Advisors
• Cetera Financial Institutions
• Cetera Financial Specialists
• Cetera Investors
• Cetera RIA Services
• Cetera Trust Company
• Avantax Planning Partners

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.8 out of 5 stars advisor satisfaction rating
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Fidelity InvestmentscoreTechnology or Integration · 27 November 2023Strategic relationship established through the Avantax acquisition, creating a multi-custodial platform. Cetera expanded its capabilities to deliver latest tools and resources to affiliated advisors through Fidelity's clearing and custody services.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• LPL Financial: LPL Financial is the largest independent broker-dealer and RIA custodian in the U.S., serving financial advisors with brokerage and advisory infrastructure similar to Cetera's Wealth Hub. It is the most directly comparable publicly traded peer and a direct competitor for advisor recruiting.
• Osaic (formerly Advisor Group): Osaic is a privately held network of independent broker-dealers and RIAs serving thousands of financial professionals with similar multi-channel affiliation models. It competes head-to-head with Cetera for independent advisor recruits and offers comparable technology and practice management resources.
• Commonwealth Financial Network: Commonwealth is a privately held independent broker-dealer/RIA serving financial advisors across the U.S. Cetera explicitly recruits advisors away from Commonwealth (e.g., Piedmont Financial Partners, David Bashaw), making it a direct rival for independent advisor affiliation.
• Cambridge Investment Research: Cambridge Investment Research is one of the largest privately held independent broker-dealers in the U.S., offering affiliated advisors a similar mix of brokerage, RIA, and hybrid affiliation paths. It is comparable to Cetera in target customer (independent financial professionals) and scale tier.
• Kestra Financial: Kestra Financial is a privately held wealth management platform serving independent financial advisors through broker-dealer and RIA channels. It competes directly with Cetera for advisor affiliation and uses a similar multi-channel Wealth Hub-style architecture.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Mariner is a large national RIA wealth advisory firm with comparable advisor-affiliation and acquisition strategies. Both Mariner and Cetera have pursued aggressive M&A roll-ups of independent advisor practices to scale AUM.
• Wealth Enhancement Group: Wealth Enhancement Group is a PE-backed RIA aggregator acquiring independent wealth management firms, similar to Cetera's RIA and branches channel strategy. It targets comparable mid-market advisor practices for affiliation.

Broad incumbents

• Ameriprise Financial: Ameriprise Financial is a diversified financial services incumbent offering brokerage, advisory, and wealth management services to individual clients and advisors. It is comparable to Cetera as a larger, more diversified wealth management player but does not specialize in the independent advisor niche.
• Raymond James Financial: Raymond James operates a large independent contractor advisor channel (Raymond James Financial Services) plus employee-channel wealth management, overlapping with Cetera's multiple affiliation models. It is a broader incumbent with wider service offerings.

Emerging players

• Edelman Financial Engines: Edelman Financial Engines is a national independent RIA providing wealth management and financial planning services, also referenced alongside Cetera in recent financial advisory industry cybersecurity incidents. It overlaps Cetera in serving mid-market and mass-affluent clients through an advisor network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CeteraFinancial
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CeteraFinancialGroup/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/CeteraFinancialGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cetera-financial-group

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cetera