A Wall Street veteran, Molnar spent the past
four years with Avantax, Inc., the tax-focused wealth management
firm acquired by Cetera last year
SAN
DIEGO, April 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cetera
Financial Group (Cetera), the premier financial advisor Wealth
Hub, has named Michael
Molnar its Head of Corporate Development. Molnar, a
Wall Street veteran who has been a buy-side investor, an investment
banker and a sell-side analyst, previously led corporate
development, M&A and succession planning for Avantax, Inc.,
acquired by Cetera Holdings in November
2023.
During his Avantax tenure, Molnar orchestrated more than 20
acquisitions that helped nearly double the size of Avantax's
employee-based RIA. Molnar will lead corporate development for the
combined Cetera-Avantax organization, overseeing the M&A team
focused on acquisitions and succession solutions.
Molnar replaces Ken Bond and will
now lead the combined corporate development organization while
working closely with Cetera Financial Group CFO Jeffrey Buchheister and Cetera Holdings CEO
Mike Durbin.
"We're grateful for Ken's contributions, many of which supported
Cetera's record-setting growth in 2023. We wish him well as he
rejoins the insurance industry where he spent much of his career
before Cetera," said Buchheister. "Looking ahead, we're excited to
have Michael in this important role, and view this rapid transition
as an early success of our Avantax integration. He was a natural
choice for Cetera leadership based on his experience and the role
he played in growing Avantax®."
In his new role, Molnar will immediately engage to further
Cetera's inorganic growth strategy while helping ensure that Cetera
remains an attractive option for advisors wanting a strong
financial partner with whom they can execute on their growth and
succession plans.
"I couldn't be happier to build on Cetera's momentum by blending
in the success we've had at Avantax," Molnar said. "Cetera has
multiple opportunities for growth and I look forward to working
closely with Cetera's leadership, board and our strategic partners
at Genstar Capital to help Cetera realize its full potential."
Molnar lives in New York City
where he spent most of his career, leading and consulting with a
variety of financial services firms. He joined Avantax in 2020 and
in his new role will also continue to lead the M&A team focused
on acquisitions and succession solutions for Avantax Wealth
Management.
Prior to Avantax, Molnar was a buy-side investor, investment
banker, sell-side equity analyst, strategy consultant and a CPA in
public accounting. He has worked at firms such as Goldman Sachs,
Accenture, and Arthur Andersen. Molnar holds an MBA in finance from
The University of Chicago, an MS in
decision science from The London School of
Economics, and a BS in accounting from Rutgers University. He is a Chartered Financial
Analyst® (CFA®) and previously earned his CPA
and CMA, though now inactive.
About Cetera
Cetera Financial Group, which is owned by
Cetera Holdings (collectively, Cetera), is the premier financial
advisor Wealth Hub where financial advisors and institutions
optimize their control and value creation. Breaking away from a
commoditized and homogenous IBD model, Cetera offers financial
professionals and institutions the latest solutions, support, and
services to grow, scale, or transition with a merger, sale,
investment, or succession plan. Cetera proudly serves independent
financial advisors, tax professionals, licensed administrators,
large enterprises, as well as institutions, such as banks and
credit unions, providing an established and repeatable blueprint
for scalable growth.
Home to more than 12,000 financial professionals and their
teams, Cetera oversees more than $475
billion in assets under administration and $190 billion in assets under management, as of
December 31, 2023. In a recent
advisor satisfaction survey of more than 32,000 reviews, Cetera's
Voice of Customer (VoC) program vigorously measures advisor
experience and satisfaction 24/7. Currently, it's ranked 4.8 out of
5 stars.
Visit www.cetera.com, and follow Cetera
on LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
"Cetera Financial Group" refers to the network of independent
retail firms encompassing, among others, the following FINRA/SIPC
members: Cetera Advisors LLC, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Cetera
Investment Services LLC (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions
or Cetera Investors), and Cetera Financial Specialists LLC. Located
at: 655 W. Broadway, 11th Floor, San
Diego, CA 92101.
About Avantax®
Avantax, Inc. (Avantax), a
unique community within Cetera Holdings, delivers tax-intelligent
wealth management solutions for financial professionals, tax
professionals and CPA firms, supporting its goal of minimizing
clients' tax burdens through comprehensive tax-intelligent
financial planning. Avantax has two distinct, but related, models
within its business: the independent Financial Professional model
and the employee-based model. Avantax refers to its independent
Financial Professional model as Avantax Wealth
Management®. Avantax Wealth Management (AWM) works with
a nationwide network of Financial Professionals operating as
independent contractors and offers its services through its
registered broker-dealer, Avantax Investment Services, Inc., Member
FINRA, SIPC, registered investment advisor (RIA), Avantax Advisory
Services, Inc., and insurance agency subsidiaries. We refer to our
employee-based model as Avantax Planning Partners℠. Avantax
Planning Partners offers services through its RIA, insurance
agency, and affiliated broker-dealer, Avantax Investment Services,
Inc., and partners with CPA firms to provide their consumer and
small-business clients with holistic financial planning and
advisory services. Collectively, Avantax had $92.8 billion in total client assets as of
December 31, 2023. For additional
information, please visit www.avantax.com.
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SOURCE Cetera Financial Group