Advisor Group, the second-largest U.S. independent broker-dealer by producing reps and among the top five in revenue, has given itself a new name in a bold move to consolidate what was once a bevy of far-flung brands.
The firm, once the broker-dealer arm of insurance giant AIG, has changed its name to Osaic, according to a company announcement, news it shared during a livestream event today. “We are excited to announce our new brand and believe it truly pulls together our culture, community, experience and diversity of thought into one inspiring story,” said Jamie Price, the president and CEO of the newly christened Osaic.
The firm said it had chosen the new name and streamlined its company into one brand after conducting extensive research. Earlier this month, the network announced it had hired Dynasty Partners' co-founder Ed Swenson to head up its RIA channel, signaling it was targeting that area, which is growing much faster than its legacy broker-dealer business, as a major avenue for expansion.
The Phoenix-based Advisor Group announced back in April that it was rebranding and forging one broker-dealer, which meant a number of well-known brand names would melt away, including FSC Securities, Royal Alliance Associates, SagePoint Financial, Securities America, Triad Advisors, Woodbury Financial Services, American Portfolios Financial Services and Infinex Investments.
Some of these names still stir up strong feelings of brand loyalty. In the past, executives with Advisor Group said that even mixing the conferences of a Royal Alliance with, say, a SagePoint could anger affiliate advisors. And when the company’s CEOs talked with reporters in the past, they made it clear that it was these brand names that clients should know, not Advisor Group’s.
That has all likely changed in a heated scramble to grow and recruit new advisors. Private equity backers of firms like Advisor Group have put pressure on firms to streamline costs and operations, acquire new advisors and possibly set themselves up against LPL, which went public in 2010 and now enjoys a stock price of $210 a share. Rumors have swirled constantly that Advisor Group would eventually go public after it was spun off from AIG in 2016. (The firm was sold to Lightyear Capital and PSP Investments in 2016, and then these buyers sold 75% of the firm to Reverence Capital in 2019, valuing the firm at $2.3 billion).
Some recruiters have warned that flagging service levels at PE-backed broker-dealers and diluted brand names could cause an advisor revolt, but it has yet to be seen if the newly christened Osaic will win acceptance in its new creation.
Other broker-dealer networks streamlined their individual firms under one brand with minimal attrition. And recruiters famously predicted a mass exodus from LPL after it initiated major changes in 2015 and 2016, only to watch the firm add reps while its stock soared dramatically. Osaic boasted 10,500 advisors in Financial Advisor's latest broker-dealer survey.
"The individual firms will unify under the new brand in phases over the next 18-24 months," said Osaic in today's announcement. "Financial professionals will reap multiple benefits from reduced corporate, brand, and operational complexity, including: Enriched peer-to-peer sharing, conversations, and networking without artificial barriers; an improved experience with unified service and support teams; innovative technology solutions delivered through a common tech stack unencumbered by legacy systems; streamlined operations that results in more efficient procedures; [and] consistent, best-in-class regulatory and compliance policies." The firm also said that the "acquisition, succession, and business continuity planning across the firm’s 11,000 financial professionals will become a more seamless experience with no repapering."