The Retirement Planning Group Drives Continued Inorganic Growth with Three Acquisitions in First Quarter 2025

Cetera's employee-based RIA continues steady acquisitions drumbeat, bringing approximately $180 million in assets 

Deals expand footprint into New York, California and Washington state

SAN DIEGO, April 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cetera, the premier financial advisor Wealth Hub, announced today that Cetera's employee-based RIA, The Retirement Planning Group (TRPG), successfully closed three practice acquisitions during the first quarter of 2025. The three acquisitions expand the firm's footprint into New York, California and Washington state, and bring approximately $180 million in assets to the firm, as of March 31, 2025.

Recent TRPG acquisitions are:

• Hawkes Wealth Management, led by President Peyton R. Hawkes, AIF^®, based in in Binghamton, NY. Hawkes Wealth Management was founded in 1981 as Russell Hawkes Associates by Peyton's father before Peyton joined the firm in 1987.
• Wealtheon Advisors, based in San Ramon, CA, led by husband-wife team Jay and Valli Doraiswami. The team was seeking increased flexibility and support in their practice and looking to spend more time with their clients.
• Financial Research, Inc., led by Jay Cowles, based in Seattle. Through the acquisition, the book of business will transition to one of TRPG's existing financial professionals who will manage it in collaboration with the TRPG team moving forward.

"We continue to experience strong interest from independent, client-centric financial advisors seeking to spend more time with their clients and less time running their business," said Kevin Conard, CEO at TRPG. "Our latest acquisitions are examples of established wealth management professionals making a change for the benefit of their clients and their business by joining TRPG. We welcome these financial professionals to the TRPG community and encourage other like-minded advisors to consider TRPG as a home for their long-term business needs."

Cetera Holdings acquired TRPG in May 2023. Click here to learn more about TRPG and click here for more information about Cetera.

About The Retirement Planning Group
The Retirement Planning Group (TRPG) is Cetera's employee-based RIA and an SEC registered investment advisory firm headquartered in Leawood, KS. With over 2,000 clients and $2.63 billion in assets under management, as of October 25, 2024, TRPG is one of the fastest growing companies in the Kansas City area. TRPG helps clients and their families nationwide navigate every financial decision they face throughout their lives by providing comprehensive wealth management services, including retirement planning, portfolio and investment management, tax planning, tax preparation and filing by our in-house tax team.

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 approximately 12,000 financial professionals and their teams, Cetera oversees more than $545 billion in assets under administration and $235 billion in assets under management, as of September 30, 2024. In a recent advisor satisfaction survey of nearly 35,000 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, X, and Facebook.

"Cetera Financial Group" refers to the network of independent retail firms encompassing, among others, Cetera Investment Advisers LLC, a registered investment adviser, and 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.

"Cetera Holdings" refers to Aretec Group, Inc., an affiliate of Cetera Financial Group, the network of independent retail firms encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors LLC, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Cetera Investment Services LLC (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions or Cetera Investors), and Cetera Financial Specialists LLC. All such retail firms are members FINRA/SIPC. Cetera Holdings is located at 2301 Rosecrans Ave., Suite 5100, El Segundo, CA 90245.

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SOURCE Cetera Financial Group