The rebranding and consolidation of the former Advisor Group broker-dealers started in earnest this week as the first of the eight firms, Royal Alliance Associates Inc., saw its name erased and replaced with Osaic Wealth Inc.
The Royal Alliance name and brand had been around since 1989, and the firm has been through multiple transactions and combinations, most recently operating as part of the Advisor Group group of eight broker-dealers with 11,000 financial advisors and around $500 billion in client assets.
The giant network, currently under the control of private equity group, Reverence Capital, said in June it was starting the process of combining the eight firms into one, under a single brand, Osaic. The effort will take up to two years.
The shift in brand names began Monday, said one financial advisor, who spoke confidentially to InvestmentNews.
"We didn’t have to do anything except change the disclosures on our emails and websites," the advisor said. "It was absolutely painless."
"Rebranding can be tough at first," said April Rudin, CEO of an eponymous marketing firm. "It’s like a new pair of shoes. The more you wear them, the more comfortable you feel in them."
“The process we’ve implemented is going very well and we’re pleased with the progress,” Jen Roche, executive vice president of marketing and communications at Osaic, wrote in an email.
On the BrokerCheck website managed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc., Osaic Wealth has replaced the Royal Alliance Associates name. Advisor Group's seven other broker-dealers — FSC Securities Corp., SagePoint Financial Inc., Securities America Inc., Triad Advisors, Woodbury Financial Services Inc., American Portfolios Financial Services Inc. and Infinex Investments Inc. — appear not yet to have made the formal switch to Osaic.
The rebranding of Advisor Group to Osaic comes at a time when the retail securities industry, particularly independent broker-dealers, is trying to look and act more like their competition, registered investment advisors. Broker-dealers charge commissions as well as fees and report conflicts linked to commissions. RIAs charge largely fees and claim they have minimal conflicts with acting in their clients' best interests.
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