NFP has spun off its advisor platform unit to a private equity firm and the onetime NFP Advisor Services will be christened with a new name, according to an announcement by the spun-off entity on Monday.
NFP, an insurance broker and consultant, will retain a minority interest in the new firm, to be called Kestra Financial Inc. The majority stake was bought by the funds of Stone Point Capital LLC, a private equity firm that invests in the financial services industry.
The transaction sets the stage for Kestra to grow as a resource and consultant for independent advisors, it said. Kestra “empowers advisors to grow assets under management, attract increasingly higher-net-worth clients and increase profitability through the use of more efficient technology,” the company said.
James Poer, the firm’s president and CEO (and a contributor to Financial Advisor magazine), says he foresees more consolidation in the financial industry in the future, and Kestra will be in a position to take advantage of that.
The firm will acquire advisory firms looking for succession planning, as well as enhance its comprehensive service and technology platform for independent advisors. Kestra’s sweet spot for acquisition will be firms serving a range of clients from the mass affluent to high-net-worth clients, says Poer.
“Our technology is unique in that it has a higher level of integration with traditional work-flow programs through programs that help advisors take a prospect and turn him or her into a client,” he says.
The Kestra platform includes 1,700 independent financial advisors.
Stone Point Capital is a financial services-focused private equity firm based in Greenwich, Conn., and it manages the Trident Funds.