Cetera Financial Group is partnering with Envestnet Retirement Solutions to build out a retirement plan solutions platform across its network of nine different broker-dealers.

Larry Roth, CEO of Cetera Financial Group which oversees the B-D network, said the network selected Envestnet partly because it could “go to market faster with a better solution.” Roth said he expects the platform will be operational later this year as various aspects of different systems are phased in.

Envestnet plays a major role on the fee-based platforms of many independent broker-dealers. Roth noted that many B-D’s in the Cetera network were already relying on various aspects of Envestnet’s capabilities.

The firms owned by Cetera’s parent RCS Capital Corp. have nearly $230 billion in client assets under management. About half of those assets are in qualified plans (such as 401(k) plans), IRAs and other retirement vehicles. Cetera has acquired all of these firms in the last two years.

Roth said many of the clients of Cetera advisors are approaching the distribution phase, so providing them with a solution set quickly was of paramount importance. Given these factors and Envestnet’s depth in the arena, it made more sense to go with an established provider than try to build its own proprietary platform from scratch.