Cetera Investment Advisers: AUM & Ownership

Clients

Cetera Investment Advisers serves 813,961 clients, 722,373 of them other individuals. The average client has about $316,000 with the firm, and high-net-worth clients hold 27% of its $256.8 billion in assets.

Regulatory assets by client type

Individuals722,373 clients68%
High-net-worth individuals79,279 clients27%
Corporations and other businesses3,884 clients2%
OtherPension and profit-sharing plans, Charitable organizations, State or municipal government entities2%

What it does

Cetera Investment Advisers provides financial planning, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for institutions, pension consulting, selecting other managers and educational seminars. It is paid through a percentage of assets, hourly charges and fixed fees.

Cetera Investment Advisers provided financial planning to 16,968 clients last fiscal year and advises no private funds.

81.4% of assets ($209.14B across 680,405 accounts) are managed with discretion; $47.67B across 133,556 accounts are not. $534.74B sits in a wrap fee program the firm both sponsors and manages. 0% of clients are outside the U.S., and 24,019 clients received advice without assets under management last fiscal year.

Show the full table

Client type	Clients	Regulatory AUM	Share	Avg. per client
Individuals (other than HNW)	722,373	$175,545,928,535	68.4%	$243K
High-net-worth individuals	79,279	$69,830,727,423	27.2%	$881K
Pension and profit-sharing plans	6,324	$3,451,178,310	1.3%	$546K
Charitable organizations	2,036	$1,932,127,031	0.8%	$949K
State or municipal government entities	65	$112,523,386	0.0%	$1.73M
Corporations and other businesses	3,884	$5,941,264,054	2.3%	$1.53M
Total	813,961	$256,813,748,739	100%	$316K

Individuals (other than HNW)722,373

Regulatory AUM: $175,545,928,535
Share: 68.4%
Avg. per client: $243K

High-net-worth individuals79,279

Regulatory AUM: $69,830,727,423
Share: 27.2%
Avg. per client: $881K

Pension and profit-sharing plans6,324

Regulatory AUM: $3,451,178,310
Share: 1.3%
Avg. per client: $546K

Charitable organizations2,036

Regulatory AUM: $1,932,127,031
Share: 0.8%
Avg. per client: $949K

State or municipal government entities65

Regulatory AUM: $112,523,386
Share: 0.0%
Avg. per client: $1.73M

Corporations and other businesses3,884

Regulatory AUM: $5,941,264,054
Share: 2.3%
Avg. per client: $1.53M

Total813,961

What the accounts hold

Separately managed account assets by class, year end

Stocks15%
Funds77%
Bonds4%
- U.S. government and agency bonds2%
- State and local bonds1%
- Investment grade corporate bonds1%
Cash3%
Other1%
- Annuity, annuity funds, lp, adr, real estate lp, depository receipt, insurance1%

Custodians

Cetera Investment Advisers’ client accounts are held mainly at Pershing, with 58% of managed assets, and Fidelity, with 22%. Cetera Investment Advisers has custody of $244.12B for 755,570 clients.

Managed account assets by custodian

PershingPershing LLC · Jersey City, NJ · $149.32B58%
Charles SchwabCharles Schwab · San Francisco, CA · $15.34B6%
Cetera Investment ServicesCetera Investment Services LLC · ST. Cloud, MN · $23.24B9%
FidelityNational Financial Services Co · Boston, MA · $56.21B22%
All other custodians$12.69B5%

Ownership and leadership

Cetera Financial Specialists Services LLC owns 75% or more of Cetera Investment Advisers.

Who owns the firm

Cetera Investment Advisers LLC· the adviser

Cetera Financial Specialists Services LLC
Control person · since June 1998
Owns 75% or more of Cetera Investment Advisers LLC
- Cetera Financial Group, Inc.
  Control person · since October 2012
  Owns 75% or more of Cetera Financial Specialists Services LLC
  - Cetera Financial Holdings, Inc.
    Control person · since October 2009
    Owns 75% or more of Cetera Financial Group, Inc.
    - Aretec Group, Inc.
      Control person · since December 2009
      Owns 75% or more of Cetera Financial Holdings, Inc.
      - GC Two Intermediate Holdings, Inc
        Control person · since December 2012
        Owns 75% or more of Aretec Group, Inc.

Leadership

Serge Budevich
Vice President, Tax Officer
Matthew Fries
Vice President
William Holloran
Vice President
Ronald Krueger
Vice President
Michael Molnar
Vice President
Joseph Neary
VP, Manager, CEO and President
Erik Niland
Vice President
Leann Rummel
Vice President
Stanley Smiley
Vice President
Andrew Watts
Vice President
Jeffrey Buchheister
Chief Financial Officer, Manager
Kristy Haley
Chief Compliance Officer, Advisory
Lisa Gok
Secretary
Scott Kirwin
Assistant Secretary
Winnie Lee
Assistant Secretary
Todd Mackay
Manager
Maura Mizuguchi
Chief Accounting Officer
Edward OBrien
Manager
David Van Havermaat
Asst. Secretary
Tamas Vays
Secretary

Staff

10,251 employees
9,049 in advisory functions
10,240 state-registered reps
10,094 broker-dealer reps
8,646 insurance agents
100 soliciting firms

Reported holdings

Cetera Investment Advisers’ reported 13F holdings total $109.76B across 5,007 positions, and the ten largest make up 16.5% of it.

$109.76B
Reported 13F value: 5,007
Positions: 16.5%
In the 10 largest: +16.8%
Value vs. prior quarter

Ten largest positions, share of reported value

iShares TR · Core S&P500 ETF3.2%
Apple Inc.1.9%
Nvidia Corporation1.8%
Vanguard Index Fds · Value ETF1.6%
Invesco Qqq TR · Unit Ser 11.5%
iShares TR · Core US Aggbd ET1.4%
Vanguard Index Fds · S&P 500 ETF Shs1.4%
State Str SPDR S&P 500 ETF T · TR Unit1.3%
Vanguard Index Fds · Total Stk Mkt1.2%
Vanguard Index Fds · Growth ETF1.1%

Together, the ten largest are 16.5% of reported value.

The 50 largest positions and quarterly changesQuarter ended 30 June 2026 · filed 12 August 2026

A 13F covers only exchange-traded long positions the firm holds with discretion, so this $109.76B is not its $256.81B in regulatory assets and does not represent any individual client's portfolio.

Fees

Cetera Investment Advisers is paid through a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges and fixed fees (other than subscription fees).

Cetera Investment Advisers’ fee rates are not included in this profile. Read its fee schedule in its SEC-filed brochure.

Offices and registrations

Besides its headquarters, Cetera Investment Advisers has 6,584 offices, with 28 listed addresses across 17 states.

Listed office addresses by state

Illinois · 2 listed addresses

1450 American Lane, 6th Floor, Suite 650, SchaumburgHQ
One East 22nd Street, Lombard

Other business names

Cetera Investment Advisers has reported 3 other business names to the SEC.

Cetera Advisor Networks
Cetera Advisors
First Allied Advisory Services

Registration details

Legal name: Cetera Investment Advisers LLC
Headquarters: 1450 American Lane, 6th Floor, Suite 650, Schaumburg, IL 60173-2096
Phone: 310-257-7880
Website: cetera.com
SEC file: 801-20406
Structure: Delaware LLC
Fiscal year end: December

This directory does not report disciplinary history, for any firm or individual, in either direction. The SEC publishes the complete record, including any disciplinary events, and it is the authoritative place to check one. See this firm's record on adviserinfo.sec.gov

Common questions

How many clients does Cetera Investment Advisers have?

Cetera Investment Advisers has 813,961 clients and manages $256.8 billion for them, as of August 2026. They include 722,373 other individuals, 79,279 high-net-worth individuals and 6,324 pension and profit-sharing plans.

Source: Form ADV Part 1A, Items 5.D and 5.F, filed 13 August 2026

What services does Cetera Investment Advisers offer?

Cetera Investment Advisers provides financial planning, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for institutions, pension consulting, selecting other managers and educational seminars. Its services also include education planning, estate planning, insurance and philanthropic planning.

Source: Form ADV Part 1A, Item 5.G, from the SEC's 2 October 2026 data file; Part 2A brochure, Item 4

Which custodians does Cetera Investment Advisers use?

Cetera Investment Advisers’ separately managed account assets are held at Pershing LLC (Jersey City, NJ), with $149,324,494,339, National Financial Services Co (Boston, MA), with $56,207,068,976, Cetera Investment Services LLC (ST. Cloud, MN), with $23,243,683,338 and Charles Schwab (San Francisco, CA), with $15,344,276,109. Only custodians holding at least a tenth of those assets are named.

Source: Form ADV Part 1A, Schedule D, Section 5.K.(3), filed 13 August 2026

How many financial advisors does Cetera Investment Advisers have?

Cetera Investment Advisers has 10,240 investment adviser representatives registered with state securities authorities, out of 10,251 employees, and 9,049 perform investment advisory functions. 10,094 are registered representatives of a broker-dealer and 8,646 are licensed insurance agents.

Source: Form ADV Part 1A, Items 5.A and 5.B, from the SEC's 2 October 2026 data file

What does Cetera Investment Advisers invest in?

At the end of its last fiscal year, Cetera Investment Advisers’ separately managed accounts held 77% registered funds (mutual funds, ETFs, BDCs), 15% exchange-traded equities, 3% cash and equivalents, 2% U.S. government and agency bonds, 1% state and local bonds, 1% investment grade corporate bonds and 1% annuity, annuity funds, lp, adr, real estate lp, depository receipt, insurance. It advises no private funds of its own.

Source: Form ADV Part 1A, Items 5.K.(1) and 7.B, from the SEC's 2 October 2026 data file

Who owns Cetera Investment Advisers?

Cetera Investment Advisers is owned through a chain of holding companies by GC Three Holdings, LLC. Its direct owner is Cetera Financial Specialists Services LLC (75% or more).

Source: Form ADV Part 1A, Schedules A and B, filed 13 August 2026

How does Cetera Investment Advisers get paid?

Cetera Investment Advisers is paid through a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges and fixed fees. Its Form ADV lists no commissions or performance-based fees among how it is paid.

Source: Form ADV Part 1A, Item 5.E, from the SEC's 2 October 2026 data file