Cetera Financial Group has landed a major win in the ongoing reshuffling among independent broker-dealers, recruiting a 14-person team that managed more than $1.1 billion in client assets from Commonwealth Financial Network. The team—known as King Financial Network—is one of the largest Commonwealth groups to make a move since LPL Financial announced its acquisition of the firm earlier this year.
Based in Manalapan, N.J., King Financial Network operates as a multifamily office and joins Cetera through its Summit Financial Networks community, part of the firm’s Cetera Advisors channel. The practice is led by founder and CEO Jim King Jr., alongside partners Tony Kelly and A.J. Vignola. Together, they oversee a team that provides wealth management, retirement, and financial planning services to multigenerational families and business owners.
For King, who has 33 years of industry experience, the decision to leave Commonwealth marks both the end of a decade-long chapter and the start of a new strategic alignment. King first affiliated with Commonwealth in 2015 after spending 15 years at LPL Financial. The announcement of LPL’s purchase of Commonwealth earlier this year, he said, prompted him to re-evaluate his firm’s direction.
“The LPL acquisition was an inflection point,” King said in a statement. “We’re deeply grateful for everything Commonwealth helped us achieve. Under CEO Wayne Bloom and his outstanding team, we grew from $108 million in assets to over $1.1 billion in just ten years.”
King said that after extensive due diligence, his team chose Cetera for its technology capabilities, advisor support structure, and the ability to continue custodying client assets with Fidelity. Commonwealth has long relied on Fidelity for custody and clearing, but LPL has indicated plans to transition Commonwealth advisors to its proprietary custody platform in 2025. For King, maintaining continuity with Fidelity was critical.
“Cetera allows us to keep what works best for our clients while gaining a partner focused on advisor growth,” he said. “That combination made the decision clear.”
The move underscores a broader wave of recruiting activity following LPL’s blockbuster deal. Competitors including Cetera, Raymond James, and Advisor Group (now Osaic) have been actively courting Commonwealth advisors, many of whom run high-producing, client-centric practices. With nearly 3,000 advisors and a long-standing reputation for independence, Commonwealth’s base has become one of the most sought-after pools of talent in the industry.
“We’re having a lot of meaningful conversations with Commonwealth advisors,” says Todd Mackay, president of Cetera Wealth Management. “They’re looking for the same qualities they’ve built their own firms around—independence, care, and long-term partnership.”
Mackay said Cetera’s multi-channel model—comprising five distinct business units and specialized advisor communities within each—enables the firm to tailor support to different practice types. “Our structure is built to meet advisors where they are,” he says. “It allows us to deliver a more customized experience that helps teams like King Financial Network accelerate their growth.”
As of June 30, Cetera reported serving more than 12,000 financial professionals and institutions with over $590 billion in assets under administration. The firm has been particularly active in advisor recruiting in 2024 and 2025, as consolidation among independent broker-dealers creates both disruption and opportunity.
King Financial Network’s decision comes at a delicate moment for Commonwealth advisors weighing whether to remain under the LPL umbrella. While LPL has pledged to preserve Commonwealth’s brand and culture, some advisors have expressed concern about how integration will affect service levels, technology, and client experience. For many, the possibility of being moved to LPL’s proprietary systems represents a meaningful change to their business model.
Mackay acknowledged that sentiment and said Cetera’s recruitment success reflects the firm’s effort to position itself as an advisor-first organization. “Advisors want to feel the same level of commitment from their partner that they give to their clients,” he says. “That’s what our model is built around.”
King Financial’s move is not isolated. In recent weeks, several other Commonwealth teams have announced departures. Raymond James recruited a four-advisor group in Glastonbury, Conn., overseeing $411 million in client assets. Other advisors have opted to form independent RIAs, while some are still assessing options before LPL begins full integration next year.
Recruiting competition has intensified industrywide as firms look to capture high-quality advisory businesses unsettled by M&A activity. For Cetera, winning the King Financial team represents more than just scale—it’s a signal that its community-driven model is resonating with established, growth-oriented advisors.
King described his team’s approach as holistic and multigenerational. “Our clients look to us for comprehensive guidance that extends beyond investments,” he said. “We help families align their financial lives with their values—covering everything from legacy planning to business succession.” That philosophy, he added, aligned closely with Cetera’s culture and long-term vision.
For Cetera, bringing King Financial Network into the fold further strengthens its East Coast footprint and adds another multifamily office to its expanding advisor network. The firm has spent the past few years bolstering its technology infrastructure and advisor service platform, rolling out enhanced digital tools, CRM integrations, and marketing automation capabilities designed to help advisors scale efficiently.
“Technology, scale, and community are the three pillars of our value proposition,” Mackay said. “When you put those together with the ability to choose your custodian, it becomes a very attractive model for advisors seeking growth with flexibility.”
The shift from Commonwealth to Cetera also illustrates a broader theme: the evolving relationship between advisors and their broker-dealer partners. As more independent firms adopt hybrid or RIA models, platform flexibility and custodial choice have become central to recruiting conversations. Advisors want the ability to design their own client experience without being forced into a single ecosystem.
Commonwealth’s longstanding use of Fidelity—and LPL’s plan to consolidate custody onto its proprietary platform—has become a decisive factor for many teams. “Fidelity has been an integral part of our operations for years,” King said. “Continuing that relationship ensures consistency for our clients and staff.”
For LPL, the acquisition of Commonwealth remains a cornerstone of its growth strategy. The San Diego-based firm now oversees roughly $1.9 trillion in assets and works with more than 29,000 advisors nationwide. LPL executives have emphasized that retention within Commonwealth remains strong and that integration is on track. Still, the transition period has opened the door for competitors like Cetera to make inroads with advisors seeking alternative partnerships.
Mackay confirmed that Cetera expects more Commonwealth recruits in the months ahead. He credited his firm’s outreach efforts—particularly two open letters he published earlier this year to Commonwealth advisors—for helping start conversations. “We wanted to speak directly to advisors about what matters to them—culture, independence, and the client experience,” he said. “That transparency resonated.”
The recruiting environment has grown increasingly competitive as firms chase a shrinking pool of large, high-quality advisory teams. Many offer transition packages with both upfront cash and long-term equity components, but Mackay maintains that Cetera’s advantage lies less in financial incentives and more in the firm’s advisor-centric culture. “Our best advocates are the advisors who’ve joined us,” he says. “They tell their peers what it feels like to be part of a community that prioritizes their growth.”
For advisors like King, the goal isn’t just to change firms—it’s to find a partner aligned with long-term strategy. “We wanted a platform that would empower our team to keep evolving,” he said. “Cetera’s leadership understands where independent advice is heading, and they’re investing in the tools and support to get us there.”
As the independent wealth management landscape continues to consolidate, moves like this highlight the industry’s shifting fault lines. Large broker-dealers are racing to secure both scale and differentiation, while independent-minded advisors are seeking flexibility, open architecture, and cultural alignment. For many, those priorities now outweigh the perceived stability of legacy affiliations.
With the King Financial addition, Cetera not only gains another billion-dollar advisory business but also sends a clear signal about its competitive intent in the post-acquisition marketplace. The firm’s leadership believes its model—a combination of institutional resources and entrepreneurial autonomy—positions it to attract more top-tier teams seeking a permanent home.
“The independent space is evolving quickly,” Mackay said. “Advisors are asking tougher questions about who’s really in their corner. Our answer is simple: we are.”
For the advisors of King Financial Network, that message appears to have resonated. “We’ve built our firm on trust, transparency, and long-term relationships,” King said. “Finding a partner that shares those values was our top priority. With Cetera, we’ve found that fit.”
The move is another reminder that even in an industry increasingly defined by consolidation, advisor choice remains the defining factor. As more firms like Cetera compete to provide platforms that blend scale with independence, advisors are finding that transitions—when done for the right reasons—can be an opportunity to strengthen both client outcomes and business growth.
In that sense, King Financial Network’s journey reflects a broader truth across the independent wealth management landscape: the most successful advisors aren’t just managing assets—they’re managing evolution. And in a market reshaped by mergers and acquisitions, those who align with the right partners are poised to thrive in the next chapter of advice.
