Independent Financial Partners (IFP) announced that CenterBridge Planning Group will be joining its team, in its largest single-team deal yet.
The $700 million Tampa-based firm joins from Commonwealth Financial Network.
CenterBridge — led by Jeff McCabe, Pat Mahardy, Joe Lazzaro, Brent Schleicher and Andy Burr — serves clients throughout Upstate New York and nationwide. The team offers comprehensive financial planning, retirement and estate strategies, investment management, insurance solutions and business and tax planning.
CenterBridge said the search for a new platform grew as the industry landscape evolved, prompting them to evaluate options that better aligned with how they want to build their practice. According to the team, IFP’s open-architecture environment and flexibility were decisive factors in the move. “What set IFP apart was the freedom to customize our technology and maintain multi-custodian access without added fees or constraints,” the CenterBridge team wrote in a statement. “That level of flexibility is essential to serving clients the way we believe is best.”
The team noted that IFP’s newly launched Project 3.14 — described as a value-participation program that allows advisors to share in the proceeds of any future sale or recapitalization of the firm — reinforced IFP’s “advisor-first philosophy.” “Just as important, IFP gives us direct access to firm leadership and a culture where advisors are truly heard. When you combine that with a program like Project 3.14, which directly aligns our long-term success with the firm’s future transaction outcomes, the independence, support, and responsiveness made the decision straightforward for our team.”
“We spent a great deal of time with the CenterBridge team as they evaluated their options, and it quickly became clear how aligned we were,” said Bill Hamm, CEO of Independent Financial Partners. “Their experience coming from a firm that was acquired by a larger organization was a powerful reminder of what advisors often lose during those transitions.
In many ways, CenterBridge was part of the inspiration behind Project 3.14 — our commitment to ensuring that advisors share in the value they help create if IFP ever pursues a future sale or recapitalization. They’re exactly the type of sophisticated, client-focused advisory business we built this platform for. Our open-architecture model, direct access to leadership, and boutique service structure are designed to support teams with bespoke needs like CenterBridge, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome them to IFP.”