As expected, NFP announced July 29 that 401(k)Advisors and RPAG have been integrated into NFP, with Vince Giovinazzo and Nick Della Vedova leading the retirement program there. Separately, it was reported that Fred Greenstein, who had previously recruited advisors for Financial Telesis (FTI) in addition to working with RPAG, has joined NFP.
Combining RPAG’s industry-leading tools, which are used by 475 firms with $150 billion in AUM, with a national independent BD with capital makes both more powerful and more compelling to plan advisors.
To fully understand what it happening in what appears to be a real showdown between LPL and NFP — led respectively by Bill Chetney and Vince Giovinazzo, who had been business partners — you have to understand the history. When NFP was taken private by Madison Dearborn, it led to the firm buying 401(k)Advisors and RPAG, which NFP had previously invested in. That led in turn to a conflict with Financial Telesis, a rival BD, which had been a close ally of RPAG and where Giovinazzo and Della Vedova held their FINRA licenses until mid-July.
Sensing an opportunity, LPL and Chetney swooped in and bought FTI, providing Chetney with a more comfortable role as entrepreneur as opposed to corporate executive.
Clearly, the lines have been drawn between NFP and LPL, with RPAG refusing to allow advisors who stay with FTI and the newly formed Global Retirement Partners to use their tools. Presently, RPAG licensees at other BDs and RIAs are able to use the tools. Will the go-forward strategy for NFP Retirement be to continue to license RPAG tools to other advisors and BDs, or will NFP use their industry-leading tools and services to recruit advisors like other BDs? Stay tuned.
