$600M Commonwealth FA Skips to Cetera Financial

A Massachusetts-based financial advisor has ditched Commonwealth Financial Network, where he oversaw about $600 million in total client assets, following its acquisition by LPL Financial, to join Cetera Financial. 

Advisor Edward Duffy has joined Cetera with his firm, Braintree, MA-based Lexington Financial, along with advisors John Walsh and William Creesy. The team also includes Duffy’s son, Michael Duffy, and his daughter Megan Duffy.  

The team is supported by director of operations Elizabeth McMahon, and client service associate John F. Walsh Jr., who is the son of John Walsh. 

The Lexington Financial team spent about three decades with Commonwealth, but following the firm’s acquisition by LPL, Duffy and his team ultimately transitioned to Cetera – calling the acquisition a move they were “unwilling to accept.” 

Duffy goes on to say that his team chose Cetera because of its broader access to Fidelity’s National Financial Services, Cetera said. 

“Leaving Commonwealth wasn’t something we took lightly after 32 years – we wouldn’t have made a change if Commonwealth hadn’t been acquired, but that effectively made the decision for us,” Duffy said. “Our goal was finding a broker-dealer that allowed us to retain control of our processes while protecting the experience our clients were used to.” 

Earlier this month, Cetera added Johnson City, TN-based Marmo Financial Group, which oversees about $300 million in assets under management, and expands Cetera’s advisor footprint in the state. 

Cetera Financial Group manages $630 billion in assets under administration and $296 billion in assets under management, as of March 31, the firm said. 

Pictured: Edward Duffy