Kovack Securities has agreed to acquire the assets of broker-dealer and investment advisor TKG Financial, Kovack announced Monday.
TKG, based in Santa Barbara, Calif., brings $200 million in client assets to Kovack Securities, a broker-dealer based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. TKG will retain its name and its leadership under founder Keith Kelt and will keep its current management, advisors and staff, according to a press release.
TKG will give up its broker-dealer license in the deal and remain as an independent branch—an office of supervisory jurisdiction—of Kovack Securities, according to the release.
Kovack noted the deal gives the firm its first West Coast presence.
This is the first of what Kovack anticipates to be a number of acquisitions of smaller firms, Kovack Securities says.
Terms of the deal were not released.
“Smaller independent firms increasingly seek to eliminate rising broker-dealer costs while maintaining their unique brands and communities of like-minded advisors,” says Brian Kovack, president and co-founder of Kovack Securities, which is a family-owned independent broker-dealer and RIA. “The transaction also provides Kovack Securities with a fully built-out presence in an area of California, with one of the highest concentrations of retail investor wealth in the nation.”
"The founding partners of our firm all came from the wirehouse channel prior to launching TKG,” says Kelt, founding principal of TKG Financial. “When we made the decision to become a broker-dealer in 2005, we wanted to create a perfect blend of a wirehouse and independent culture, presenting ourselves as a true alternative to the rest of the industry. Escalating broker-dealer regulatory complexities have motivated us to pursue this transaction so we can renew our focus on serving our clients."