Fairfield, Iowa-based Cambridge, the parent company of broker-dealer Cambridge Investment Research, today announced the launch of BridgePort Financial Solutions, a registered investment advisory firm that has $1.1 billion in assets under advisement and was created to support fee-only independent advisors.
Eddie Rollins will join BridgePort as managing director to lead the new RIA, according to the announcement. Rollins is a former partner at Horizon Investments and helped lead its distribution efforts.
BridgePort will support smaller RIAs with technology, succession, acquisition, practice management, business consulting and outsourcing services, according to the announcement.
Advisors will have the ability to transfer a minority, majority or full ownership stake in their business to BridgePort, adopt the BridgePort branding or maintain their own established brand and work with the firm to create continuity and succession plans.
“We understand the unique challenges faced by smaller advisory firms in today’s rapidly evolving financial services landscape,” said Jeff Vivacqua, Cambridge’s president of growth and development, in released comments. “We created BridgePort with the smaller RIA business owner in mind; for many firms that fall into this category, it may make sense to streamline operations and accelerate their growth pattern by becoming part of a larger group. That is why we created this stand-alone firm. It is a different business model than Cambridge. BridgePort is our newest solution for fee-only financial advisors interested in taking that next step.”
Upon launch, BridgePort will focus on acquisitions as well as the long-term growth and longevity of its advisors, according to Cambridge.