Cetera Financial Group is launching Cetera Planning Partners, a national employee-advisor registered investment advisor (RIA) that combines Avantax Planning Partners (APP) with The Retirement Planning Group (TRPG). Both groups currently hold $19 billion in assets under advisement (AUA).
Together, the company will have 100 advisors and operate as an employee-advisor community within Cetera’s RIA and Branches channel. Advisors within Cetera Planning Partners will have access to in-house specialists across financial planning, tax, investments, estate planning, insurance, trust services, and retirement solutions.
Clients will have access to a single platform that offers services across financial planning, tax strategy, investments, estate planning, and insurance. The integration is said to avoid conflicts in handling multiple providers, Cetera says.
“We built Cetera Planning Partners around a simple idea – advisors should never have to choose between what’s best for their clients today and what’s right for the future,” said Jennifer Hanau, president, Cetera RIA and Branches channel, in a statement. “For growth-focused advisors, that means more time with clients and a full bench of specialists behind them. For those thinking about succession, it means certainty: for their clients, their team, and the legacy they’ve built.”
TRPG has since rebranded as Cetera Planning Partners, with APP expected to join the company later this year.
Cetera says the new integration builds on its efforts to “expand and scale its employee-advisor RIA community.” The firm has announced additions of RIAs Darnall Sikes Wealth Partners, Plains Wealth Management, and Matkovic Financial Group so far in 2026.
“To undertake a shift as significant as Cetera Planning Partners, you need the right conditions, the right alignment and the right leadership, and we have all those things backed by a strong capital structure,” said Cetera Financial Group CEO Mike Durbin. “Advisor sentiment is increasingly aligned with the RIA model, driven by accelerating client demand for financial planning and advice. Cetera Planning Partners is how we lead it.”
Cetera firms manage approximately $640 billion in assets under administration and $294 billion in assets under management. The firm currently works with over 12,000 financial professionals and institutions.